Lazy White Cheddar Shells with Edamame and Spinach

It started like this:

Today was one of those days in which your mood can only be described as lazy. I had a stressful day yesterday and I wanted today to be extra easy.

For dinner, I was craving my Pesto and Edamame Pasta Salad. But first, I would need to empty out the pot I use to make pasta and wash it. That was a big no. (It currently sits in the fridge with some leftover soup).

Second, I would need to wash and chop some romaine lettuce. Ugh. It started to feel like too much! Even though the pasta salad is one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever done, today’s mood called for something much easier! Lazy alert!!!

So I did what I’ve done when I feel like I just can’t muster up the energy to cook. I looked in my fridge and in my pantry to see if there was anything that would fit together naturally. I saw the box of macaroni and cheese and immediately I knew it would go wonderfully with the edamame I had wanted to make originally.

Simple, lazy mood ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1 box Annie’s Shells & White Cheddar macaroni & cheese
• 2 tbsp milk of choice
• 1 tbsp butter or vegetable spread
• 3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1.5 cups shelled streamed edamame
• Hemp seeds

Directions:

1. Cook Annie’s shells according to package directions. Reserve ~1/4 cup of the pasta water.
2. To make the sauce: add butter to the saucepan and let it melt. Then add the milk, pasta water, and powdered Annie’s cheese. Mix until well blended.
3. Turn off the heat. Add plain Greek yogurt to cheese sauce and mix well.
4. Optional: add 1/2 tsp of black pepper to the cheese sauce.
5. Add the pasta to the sauce along with the spinach and edamame.
6. Serve topped with about one tbsp of hemp hearts!

*Right before digging in, I sprinkled in some red pepper flakes and it was perfection!