At Mar's request, here is my recipe for green mac'n'cheese. The measurements in here are total guesses, but it's pretty forgiving. I know that some people feel very passionate about the baked v. cheese-sauce-poured-over-macaroni methods. This recipe is of the latter variety.
SNICK'S GREEN MAC'N'CHEESE
1/2 lb. macaroni, cooked and drained (as I mentioned in my comments, I'm fond of Barilla Pasta Plus)
2-3 T. butter
2 T. flour
1-2 c. milk
2 c. grated cheese(s) of your choice
1/2 lb. green veggies, steamed until soft, then pureed very fine (I like to use the Trader Joe's frozen Greens with Envy)
Melt butter over medium heat in medium saucepan. Add flour and whisk. The next step is the important part! Add the milk in 1/4 c. or so increments, whisking like mad as you add so as to avoid lumps. Once all the milk in, you should have a thick, creamy white sauce. Stir in the cheese in batches; how much cheese you add will depend on your own taste buds. Stir in pureed veggies. Pour it all over the pasta and mix well.
As I said in my comments, I will freeze the final product in muffin tins. Once frozen, you can store the "muffins" in zip-top freezer bags. Each portion is about a meal (one "muffin" per kid" if they are in the mood to eat well. They take about a minute to defrost in the microwave.
Enjoy!
Moi
- Snickollet
- I'm a mother and a widow, and a whole lot of other things. Here, though, I tend to write about parenting, grief, and their intersection.
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11 comments:
Thanks for the recipe. It sounds yummy. Amy will love it.
Thank you so much! This is an awesome idea :-)
If I have one regret in life it is the fact that I let my firstborn dictate his diet at a young age. At 14 he has NOT outgrown his pickiness.
If I were to do it again (and DID with my twins 4 years later)I would have offered him healthy meals and if he refused he would have gone hungry till the next meal.
I catered too much to his whims and am paying for it big time. The twins were given healthy fare and at 9 eat whatever we eat with relish. No eating worries whatsoever. Of course all kids are different but let's face it. A hungry child WILL eat what is presented.
Keep at it and don't buckle as I did. You won't regret it.
Amyinbc
That sounds yummy and healthy -and, umm, ambitious! Is it bad that I just add a bag of frozen Oriental-style Cascadian farm veggies to a prepared box of Annie's? I used to puree the veggies, but don't any longer now that they're older, and now I add a can of organic kidney beans too. Ready in less than 15 minutes - great for our less ambitious days. One thing our methods have in common: don't ever give it to em plain (as in, without veggies) and they'll never no to ask for it that way. I love the muffin tin idea. Ikea also makes these great silicon trays that are perfect for freezing baby food - the sizes are about the same as a muffin tin, and it's very easy to get the cubes out. I kind of miss the days when my freezer was a rainbow of cubes. Back then, they never lobbed gems like "mama, go sit in the bedroom with no talking!" in my direction during dinner.
This sounds great! I have one twin that eats anything, veggies included, and one that only wants to eat mac and cheese, french toast, or fruit. This should fix his wagon and get him to eat some veggies! Thank you!
I recently discovered Barilla Plus pasta thanks to Lynn Rosetta Kasper and the Splendid Table. I give it a big thumbs up. It's really good tasting pasta (much better than wheat pastas I've tried) and offers the health benefits of fiber and protein. Great combination.
I first tried Barilla Plus in a recipe for pasta with spinach and cheese found over at the Chocolate & Zucchini blog. Yum! And easy. But for adults. Not sure toddlers would like it.
This is a great recipe...if you don't have time to puree, I have a mandolin that julienne's squash, zucchini and carrots into thin strips. I often cook these into sauces and the tastes are subtle but nutricious.
Alice
That's a great idea! I like that dinner with the twins is getting 'figured out'.
Apparently I was always a picky eater. My Dad blames the Tang they put in my bottle (just once)...
Another way to make "green" mac and cheese is to use Sage Derby cheese with the macaroni noodles. Not as healthy, but the sage derby is amazing! Cheers to raising kids meat free!
Hey, thank you! I'm so touched -- and this looks great!!
- Mar
I'm about to do this right now! I went to the store today with this recipe in mind. (Am I a complete weirdo to be this excited about macaroni and cheese?)
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