Healthy Cheeseburger Mac Recipe

cydonian

This was requested by someone on my blog (and my godsister!) so I tried my hand and it a few months ago and here's what I came up with:

Per 3oz. serving:
Calories: 456
Fat: Roughly 9g
Protein: Roughly 20g

Wendy's Nearly Healthy Cheeseburger Mac
Serves 4-6

15-16oz of Whole Wheat Pasta
Just over 1/2lb of extra lean ground turkey (around 290g)
2 tablespoons of light margarine
2 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of skim milk (wouldn't recommend nonfat)
2 cups of Cabot Reduced Fat Cheddar, shredded
3/4 cup of grated Parmesan-Romano blend
2 tablespoons of Worcheshire sauce
4 tablespoons of yellow mustard
1/4 cup of ketchup (make sure there's no corn syrup, that pushes up calories)
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Chili powder, if desired
*Edit: This was suggested by my godsister: Use Montreal Steak seasoning to season the ground turkey while cooking it!*

Begin a rue over medium heat in a saute pan of the flour and butter (equal parts flour and butter) until you have a creamy paste. Add the milk and bring to a low boil. Slowly stir in the parmesan and shredded cheddar, and keep stirring until visibly melted. Reduce heat to below medium. Keep stirring every minute or so to keep the sauce moving. Do not allow the sauce to boil. After 5-10 minutes, add the worcheshire, half of the mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and italian seasoning. Continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes. If the sauce is to your taste, add the rest of the mustard, ketchup and onion powder. Once the sauce is smooth and evenly melted, reduce heat to low and let sit. The sauce should be a light burnt orange color.

Begin your pot for the pasta and cook according to package instructions. In the mean time, lightly spray a pan with cooking spray and cook the ground turkey on just under medium heat. Keep the meat moving; it's very lean so it will burn if it sits too long. Season with salt and pepper and a little chili powder, if desired. Once the meat is fully cooked, reduce the heat.

Drain the pasta, put into a serving bowl and slowly pour the cheese mixture over top. Mix. Then add the cooked ground turkey and stir again. Serve, and enjoy!