Mac 'n Cheese: Version I

I thought I'd do a little reporting on one of my all time favorites: Macaroni & Cheese. Now, up until a few years ago, that (exclusively) meant out of a blue box. My Mom tried and tried over the years to get me to eat real macaroni and cheese, but I wouldn't do it. Weird, I know. That is, until I ventured into what would become my Mother-in-law's kitchen and ate her macaroni and cheese. And I will not go back. So, though this is not her traditional version of macaroni and cheese, it is a version that she cooked the other night, and I thought it was very yummy, so here it is for your consumption. (I made two slightly-more-than-individual sized portions, but you could easily double the recipe for more people.)

Cook elbow noodles until very al dente, not too mushy b/c you'll be baking this.
In a bowl, combine about a half cup ricotta cheese, about 3/4 cup cottage cheese, about 3/4 cup grated jack cheese, a pat of butter, 1 egg, and a splash of milk. Once noodles are cooked, drain and add to cheese mixture. Pour into dish. Take 1 slice of bread and pulse in the food processor. Add to 1 Tablespoon of melted butter and spoon onto macaroni. Bake on 375 until hot and bubbly, or about 20-ish minutes. YUM!!! Did you notice I couldn't wait to eat it? Its just too good.

By the way, I used skim milk, low fat ricotta, and fat free cottage cheese. Oh, and Smart Balance Light for the butter and wheat bread for the bread crumbs. You could easily use a handful of ready-made bread crumbs, crunched up crackers, or omit it...but who am I kidding? The crunchy topping is the best part.