Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Lately I had been feeling that I made the same recipes over and over again. I was getting bored with our usual Mexican, pasta, and soups. So I've been trying out some new recipes along with some new foods that we don't normally eat. So tonight's experiment was a recipe from my friend, Kara. My husband loooves mac and cheese and I've never actually made it for him, so I decided to start with Kara's butternut squash mac and cheese. I was impressed with the results and will definitely be adding this to my rotation. I also tweaked this to make it slightly healthier.

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

1 tbls. butter
1 lb elbow mac (I didn't have any, so I used whole wheat penne)
1 10 oz. frozen butternut squash package
1 1/2 cups cheddar (shredded)
1/2 cup mont. jack cheese (shredded)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup gruyere (shredded)
1/4 cup cream
Whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375, cook noodles and set in baking dish (be sure to coat with Pam or butter so it won't stick)
In a saucepan over medium, heat bay leaf, butter, milk and squash until smooth, add in cheddar and jack one cup at a time (save 1/2 cup cheddar for top) until melted, add in spices, then pour over mac and mix well in dish (remove bay leaf), sprinkle rest of cheddar and breadcrumbs on top and bake for 25 min.