Mac and cheese with a green flair

Dinner: Mac and cheese with a green flare.
1/2 box of pasta, we used shells, though anything similar would work
1/3- 1/2 pound of fresh string beans. canned just won't have the same crunch to them.
1/3 pound of peas. these do not need to be fresh, frozen works just as well.
2-3 large shallots
~1/2 cup of milk. we used skim and it worked great
1/2 cup of shredded mild cheddar cheese
~ 1/2 of gruyere cheese
black pepper,garlic powder to taste
2-3 shakes of tabasco sauce (to taste)
enough bread crumbs to cover the surface of it.

Cook the pasta. I don't think that really needs instructions. In the meantime start another pot of water. You don't need a lot, you just need enough to cover the green beans to blance them. Once the water is boiling toss in the green beans and let them cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Fill a bowl that can hold the beans with some ice water. This will shock the beans so they will stop cooking. While you are waiting for that, its a good time to start on the shallots. In pan heat some oil or butter and toss the thinly cut shallots in. Let them cook and brown. Once browned, toss in the cooked green beans (cut into thirds) and the defrosted peas. Add a table spoon or so more of oil to help coat everything. Now its time to add the pasta. (We ended up cooking this in the pan, but you can just as easily put it in a dish for baking it in the oven.) If you are doing it in the pan add the pasta first, if not then just create the cheese sauce first. Mix the pasta in the pan, tossing it with the vegtables. Lower the heat to low, and slowly add the milk. Continue to stir it, while adding in the cheeses, allowing them to melt and coat the veggies and the pasta. When the cheese is finally melted and evenly coated, its time to coat the top with breadcrumbs for that nice crunchy crust. When coated then either let it sit on the stove for another few minutes on the low heat, or place it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 for a really nice crunch.

Eat and Enjoy!