Simpler Than A Box of Mac & Cheese - Macaroni and Yogurt Sauce

I think it is Annie's Mac & Cheese that has a little tip under the instructions saying something like, "for a low-fat variation, replace the milk and butter with 1/2 cup of yogurt!"

This is simultaneously the smartest suggestion anyone has ever made, and the dumbest thing ever.  It is only dumb, though, because you should ALWAYS make boxed Mac & Cheese with yogurt instead of milk/butter/margarine/whatever insane ingredients it calls for.  Just whisk that powdery packet in with yogurt, and you get a smooth sauce that is the perfect consistency and has an added tang.  It is actually better tasting.  And it is my favorite way to eat yogurt (OK, maybe second favorite, after Baked Oatmeal.)

This tangy sauce discovery reminded me of making beef stroganoff with my mom a few decades ago.  I think in that case it may've been sour cream that made the sauce tangy.  Also, I don't remember liking it.  (Although that could have been the beef?)  But I thought I would try a sauce like that - take a powdery vegetable bullion cube and whisk it into yogurt.  See how it turns out.

But at the grocer the brand of bullion I would buy was gone... so I puzzled out a solution after wandering around the grocery store.

And I will never buy boxed Mac and Cheese again.

Here are some instructions:

Boil some water.
While waiting for the water, whisk some romano cheese into half a cup of yogurt.  I recommend full fat greek yogurt, I recommend a hard cheese that melts quickly or doesn't need to melt - the fresh grated romano I used was perfect.  But you have to be careful because if you heat the yogurt it will separate - this is actually the difficult thing about mac & cheese in general.  Anyway.
Clean and trim some brocolli - macaroni and cheese without vegetables is gross.
Add your pasta to the water (please use 100% whole grain pasta, if it is made of quinoa that's fine, if it is made out of rice it should be brown rice, if it is made out of corn... eh, I'm not sure if that's food.  If it is made out of whole grain wheat, that's cool.  If it is made out of white flour you should know that that isn't food.)
When the pasta is nearly done add the veggies to steam.  Then drain it all and return it to the pot immediately.  Add your yogurt cheese mixture and stir it up.

It's not the best when it gets cold.  But it is delicious when it is hot.  And it is better than most mac and cheese, and it doesn't have butter or flour or a ton of cheese, and it is tangy and delicious.