Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese

While watching The Chew today, they featured an awesome mac and cheese that I had to try. I love mac and cheese. My grandmother makes the best mac and cheese out there and it was actually the first recipe that I knew by heart.  I was interested in how the butternut squash and kale would play in this version of a recipe that uses the same basics of my grandmother's mac and cheese.


Ingredients:
1 pound Bacon (diced)
1 Onion (diced)
1 Butternut Squash (peeled, diced, roasted and pureed)
2 cups Kale (deribbed and chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/3 cup Half and Half
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 pound Rigatoni
1 1/2 cup Gruyere
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
2 cups bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground black pepper (to taste)

Recipe at The Chew. Mimi's Lesson: Roux = 1 tbsp fat (bacon grease and butter) + 1 tbsp flour + 1 cup milk + 1 cup cheese.  They play with the proportions a little with the butternut squash, cheese and mascarpone cheese. I substituted greek yogurt for the mascarpone and am sure you really wouldn't be able to tell a difference. Overall great dish and I will make it again.  It needs a few tweeks.

Things I learned from the recipe:
1. Butternut squash adds a lot of sweetness to the dish - salt from the bacon is completely necessary to balance.  I didn't use the full pound and wish I had.
2. The butternut squash puree adds a wonderful creaminess to the dish that makes cheese less necessary. Great substitute!
3. I always think I'll end up with more kale than I do after it cooks down.  Even when I try to correct for this, I still end up short.  Always add more kale.