Confetti Mac & Cheese...

Why don't we just go ahead and say this recipe wasn't exactly what I expected.  I'm notoriously awful at estimating appropriate serving sizes for pasta when I'm looking at a dry quantity.  So, I mistakenly expected that based on the measurements in the original (they didn't have servings listed), that this would  probably get me 6 servings or so (silly me...usually I err in the opposite direction... i.e. spaghetti for one?  Go ahead and invite the army, cuz I made way too much!).  Anyway, when I got going, I realized there's no way in hell that this is going to make 6 servings.  In actuality, it's really only enough for 4 max (in my opinion), but I stretched it to 5 on account of keeping the calories semi-reasonable.  And honestly, I'm not even totally sure about the calories as they're listed, since I had to add way more milk than I expected.  The cooking times were also pretty whacked out...which may or may not have something to do with altitude and/or cooking on electric instead of gas.  All in all, it was a bit of an ordeal.  On the bright side, it smells amazing and the spoonful I snuck when I was portioning was delicious.  The original recipe can be found at Peas and Crayons.  Here it is:

Confetti Mac & Cheese
5 servings - 490-ish calories each

Ingredients
12 oz. evaporated milk
1/2 to 2 c. regular milk (you'll be adding it a little at a time, as you need to.)
2 c. small shells pasta (according to comments in the original, this can NOT be substituted for other pastas without major ramifications in cooking time and liquid content)
1 c. vegetables of choice (I used half and half of petite frozen peas and shoepeg corn)
1/4 lg. onion, diced
2 T. bacon bits
1/4 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic flakes
1/2 c. gouda, shredded (I used apple smoked gouda)
1/2 c. sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 c. parmesan, shredded
Seasonings, to taste

Directions
You really need to prep everything first on this one, because once the pasta goes in, you'll need to be dealing with that pretty much non-stop until it's done.  Soooo....saute vegetables with bacon bits and seasonings, then set aside.  Make sure all cheeses are shredded and ready to go, then set aside.  Make sure your regular milk is on the counter next to the stove, ready to go.  Put pasta and evaporated milk in a pot and turn heat on medium-low (the original suggested a setting of 4 on a numbered dial...I think if I do this again, I might crank it up a little, because oh.my.god. this took forever).  You'll need to stir the pasta nearly constantly to keep the milk from burning, adding regular milk as needed to keep the sauce from getting excessively thick.  The original recipe said it should be done in 10-15 minutes...in reality, I was at my stove for almost 35 minutes, stirring away.  When pasta is tender (try a piece to make sure!), add vegetables and cheeses.  Stir to melt and add milk as necessary to adjust consistency of sauce.  When everything is heated through, you're all set and ready to serve.  I'll let you know how it turns out when I do the recipe update in a week or two!