Day 9 of the Under 500 Calorie Challenge: GF Macaroni and Cheese withLil Smokies

Tuesday night is scout night for my boys and husband so I need to do a quick meal. We usually do sandwiches and chips. I wanted to try something a little more filling. I thought about what I had on hand and remembered my snowbird parents brought over two large packages of cocktail sausages and a block of cheddar cheese last week when they mptied their refridge before flying off to their winter retreat! I had a bag of GF spiral pasta in the pantry so I thought I could pull it all together to slim down one of my boys' favorite meals, mac&cheese with hotdogs. This meal took about 40 minutes from start to table.

GF Macaroni and Cheese with Lil Smokies:
(Serves 6; 493 calories per serving)
8oz gluten free noodles, cooked and drained
4 tbsp Butter, divided
2 tbsp Almond Meal Flour
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded and divided
1/4 cup Corn Flake Crumbs
1/8 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
10 Lil Smokies, cut in thirds

Preheat oven to 350* and prepare a 2qt casserole dish by lightly greasing with nonstick spray. Melt 2 tbsp butter over low heat in a medium sauce pan. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes while whisking continuously. The mixture will turn a rich amber color. Turn up the heat to medium and whisk in the cream. Cook for 5 minutes, whisking periodically until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the mustard and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Keep whisking until all ingredients are well blended. Fold in the cooked noodles and Lil smokies. Spoon into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. In a microwaveable bowl, melt the other 2 tbsp of butter and then mix the corn flake crumbs and Parmesan into the bowl. Place crumb mixture over the noodles and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.