The kids inhaled this dinner the other night—even had seconds, and Erik has not been a fan of pasta in the past (and M's been getting more "discerning" about food lately). I admit that I liked it more than regular Mac & Cheese too. I finely diced carrot, red bell pepper and spinach and added the carrot and pepper to the water as the Annies "Arthur" macaroni boiled. Then, about 30 seconds before draining, I tossed the spinach in too. Made the sauce according to the pkg directions... and called it "Arthur Macaroni with Veggie Confetti". An inventive way to get the kids to eat some veggies—that worked! Yeah!
2 comments:
Yummy! That looks awesome! I just found 99 cent boxes of Nemo and Pirate pasta made by Disney that don't come with any sauce but I couldn't pass on the shapes. I think I got them at Freddies. Now I need to learn to make my own cheese sauce since I have always relied on the cheese packet that comes with everything. Any ideas?
From Rachael Ray:
INGREDIENTS
* 1 T extra virgin olive oil
* 2 T butter
* 3 T flour
* 1 1/2 C whole or 2 percent milk
* 3 C sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
* 1/2 t nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
* 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper, a couple pinches
* Salt
* 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked 8 minutes or to al dente, with a little bite to it
PREPARATION
Pre-heat broiler.
Heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter, about one turn of the pan. When the butter melts into the oil, add flour and combine. Gently cook, whisking flour and butter together, until smooth and flour has had a chance to cook, about three minutes.
Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Gently bring milk to a bubble while stirring frequently. Allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in two cups of shredded cheddar cheese a handful at a time.
Season sauce with nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Taste and add a little salt, if you like. Add cooked pasta to sauce and coat completely by turning over and over in the cheese sauce.
Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place baking dish under a hot broiler and brown the cheddar cheese on top.
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