Slow-cooked butternut squash soup

I went to a farmer's market the other week and decided to buy some stuff I usually don't get. I got a leek, some kale, green and yellow zucchini squash, and a butternut squash (I was trying to get spaghetti squash but they ran out). I used the kale for pasta, but I had no idea what to do with the leek so I decided to use it for soup since I read that it's in the onion family (taste-wise). Most recipes call for roasting the butternut squash but I've been on a slow-cooker kick so I just chopped everything up and threw it in the slow cooker overnight. I attempted to blend it in the morning with a mixer because I don't have a hand blender (or patience) ... FAIL. Do not attempt at home, especially if you havalready changed into work clothes! Save yourself the dry cleaning bill and just let it cool for at least 10-15 minutes, then put it in a food processor or blender. It turned out delicious though, the little bit of almond milk helped make it creamy.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 leek (white root part only) sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup almond milk
3 cups low sodium chicken broth

Directions: combine in slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Use a hand blender or food processor (after allowing to cool) to blend into delicious soup!
If you don't have leeks, you can use a whole diced onion or 1 cup of sliced green onions. The almond milk can also be substituted with regular skim milk or soy milk, or left out completely if you'd like.

Nutritional Info (makes 3-4 servings, about 1 cup each)
Calories 93
Total fat 0.6g
Saturated fat 0.2g
Sodium 102.6mg
Total Carbs 20.5g
Fiber 4.0g
Protein 3.5g

Buffalo Chicken Mac 'n Cheese

This is my first original recipe EVER!!!!!!!!
My boyfriend loves all things buffalo sauce-covered, and my sister mentioned a while ago that she had found a great recipe for buffalo mac 'n cheese which I thought sounded fantastic but a little too rich for us since we're trying to lose weight. I tried making this plain once but it was really missing a lot of substance, so I decided to add in chicken and tomatoes and some more cheese. Considering the cheddar was fat-free and the Laughing Cow wedges are only 35 calories each, I think the added flavor was definitely worth it. You can use any flavor of Laughing Cow, I would have used blue cheese flavor but I didn't have any at the time.
Recipe:
1/2 box of elbow macaroni (use whole wheat for a healthier option)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup of milk (I used nonfat soymilk and it actually turned out perfect)
2 slices of fat-free cheddar cheese
2 wedges of Laughing Cow Garlic 'n Herb Lite cheese
1/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce (or your favorite brand)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup cooked shredded chicken breast
Directions:
1. Boil water for macaroni and cook according to package instructions.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk together until almost uniform.
3. SLOWLY add milk while whisking. I really eyeballed this part, but I think it came out to about 1 cup of soy milk. You can add as much or little milk as you like for desired thickness, just make sure to whisk out the lumps
4. Add Laughing Cow and cheddar cheese slices. When cheese is melted, add buffalo sauce.
5. Add chicken and cherry tomatoes. Cook for about 2 minutes and mix thoroughly.
6. Add cooked macaroni back in and mix all together. Top with green onions if desired.
When I served this to my boyfriend, he just said "OH MY GOD" and then asked me to bring the entire pot to the table because he was about to finish his first bowl in 10 seconds. The tomatoes added a little bit of extra moisture without compromising the consistency of the sauce and the chicken added some great lean protein. I saw on IowaGirlEats that goat cheese crumbles can be added to the top if you're baking it, but I decided to keep it simple this time since it was a brand new recipe. Not sure if that will fly though, since my boyfriend told me "not to change a thing." I'll use whole wheat or high fiber pasta next time though (shhh, don't tell!).
Nutritional info: per serving (this recipe makes about 4 servings)
Fat 5.9 g
Saturated fat 2.5g
Cholesterol 45.1mg
Sodium 1268.4mg
Total carbs 47.2g
Dietary fiber 2g
Protein 23.4g