Mac & Cheese Pie

I just wanted to take this moment to share with you a great recipe that I am planning on making sometime this weekend.  I made it last year, and being just one person, I froze individual slices of the pie and I would take it for lunch every day.  It made a very large pie, and this time I plan on dividing it between 2 pie plates.
I will start by saying that I got the idea from an issue of Kraft Food & Family (winter 2007), and made serious modifications to suit my diet and lifestyle.  As you may or may not know, I am on the IC diet, and though my college-student financial status has primary influence on my eating habits, I strive to make my own food when possible and to follow the diet to reduce symptoms.

So, here is the original version published in Food & Family:

1 pkg Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
2 cups small broccoli florets
4 eggs
1 pkg Oscar Mayer Smoked Ham or Honey Ham, chopped
1/2 cup Kraft Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.  Cook pasta in boiling water until tender, adding broccoli during the last 2 min. of cooking time; drain.
Meanwhile, beat eggs in bowl.  Stir in cheese sauce and ham until well blended.  Pour egg mixture over pasta, stir to combine.
Spoon into prepared pie plate.  Sprinkle with cheese.   Bake 30 min. or until set and golden brown.
Makes 6 servings.

Now, here is MY (better) version:

1 box whole-wheat elbow macaroni (usually about 13 oz)
2 cups broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
4 eggs
4-6 oz of whatever meat you prefer or have on hand (a good way to incorporate leftovers.  I sliced up some sausage last time, this time I plan on using ground beef)
about 6 oz of cheese.  (I buy the 16 oz blocks of cheese because it is more cost-effective, and I shred it myself.  So, for this I just cut off a hunk a little less than 2/3 of the block.  You can use cheddar, colby jack, monterey jack, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your pie pan (I used a large pie pan and it was piled twice as high as the pan.  It can very easily be put into 2 pans).  Boil the pasta until tender, and add the broccoli for the last 2 minutes of boiling.  Drain.
While pasta is cooking, shred the cheese.  Beat the eggs.  Add the meat and about 2/3 of the shredded cheese to the eggs and stir together.  Add the egg mixture to the pasta mixture and stir.  Spoon the mixture into the pie pan(s) and sprinkle with the remaining cheese (you may want to use extra cheese if using 2 pie pans), and bake for 30 minutes.

Let me know how yours turns out :-).