Seafood Mac and Cheese

4 tbsp butter
½ cup flour
3 cups skim milk
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, thawed and chopped
1 pound pasta (use a pasta that will hold the cheese, like elbows or fusilli)
2 cups shredded cheddar
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh chives (optional) I used dried herbs about 1 tbsp
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley (I also used dried for this – about 1 tbsp)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in a large salted pot of water until al dente. While the pasta is cooking take a large sauce pan and heat 2 tbsp butter until melted, stir in the flour. When the mixture thickens add in the milk and cook again until mixture thickens. About 5 minutes.

Drain the pasta and add it to the large sauce pan. Add in the cheddar, parmesan cheese and chopped shrimp and gently stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a greased 9x13 inch pan.In the microwave melt 2 tbsp butter. Add it to the panko breadcrumbs. Add in chives and parsley and stir to combine. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Baked for 20-25 minutes at 400. Let cool 5 minutes and serve!

When you split it into 6 servings the calorie counts are as follows:

Calories: 498
Carbs: 58
Fat: 12
Protein: 27
Fiber: 6
Sodium: 520

When you split it into 8 servings:

Calories: 373
Carbs: 43
Fat: 9
Protein: 20
Fiber: 5
Sodium: 390


***I made this for dinner last night, delicious!! I also added in 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese just because I had it on hand. The more cheese the better!! I'm sure you could make this lower cal but it's very filling so 498 cals for a full dinner isn't too bad! I also use one box of whole grain elbow pasta which is 13.25 ounces instead of a pound of regular pasta so if you use regular the calories may vary. It is high on carbs but it's pasta so what do you expect!

Oh and this is saved in the MFP food database as Seafood Mac & Cheese - JMW