Skip the oven this summer, and have this hearty Stove Top Corn and Red Pepper Mac & Cheese on the dinner table in 30 minutes!
Raise your hand if comfort food still has a hook on you despite the desire to fire up the grill during summer days?
Both of mine are raised high!
While the grill or no-cook dinners are our go-to during these blazing days, every now and then I get a hankering for creamy, stick to your ribs dinner! But that doesn’t always mean you have to fire up your oven. With a few ingredients, even a few that highlight summer produce, you can have a hearty dish on your dinner table in a mere 30 minutes!
Fresh corn is a staple for us nowadays. From roadside stands to the farmers market, I always stock up on sweet corn. While we love corn on the cob, much like parmesan garlic, I love to cut it right off the cob and garnish salads or even add it to pasta. Keeping the corn raw or lightly cooking it, keeps it sweet and crunchy. The flavor it adds to dishes is highly addicting! And in this mac and cheese, it adds wonderful texture to the creamy greek yogurt slathered noodles!
To keep this more swimsuit friendly, I lightened up the sauce with greek yogurt! It creates a velvety sauce while adding a boost of protein! Then provel cheese, which is a mixture of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone cheeses, has incredible melting powers. It works wonders in baked dishes! Provel is made into long strings, much like thin string cheese. I pick it up in the gourmet cheese section of my local grocery store. I actually found it at Sam’s Club! If you have trouble finding it, you can swap mozzarella for perfect melting powers and flavor!
With a healthy, speedy, and wholesome dish such as this, there is no reason to forgo mac and cheese during the summer months! Phew!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole wheat linguine
- Salt to season pasta water
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- 3 ears corn kernels cut off
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 8 ounces mozzarella or provolone
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 chicken sausages cooked and sliced
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
- In a large skillet, add the corn and red peppers. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the pasta, 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, greek yogurt, provel cheese, onion powder, garlic salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately topped with the chicken sausage and cilantro.
Leave a Reply