By Clean, I mean, clean by my kids' standards of a clean room: there was an attempt, but still a few things to clean up.
Max requested Mac-N-Cheese. I'm certain he was looking forward to that boxed crap I finally tossed from our pantry. So, I eagerly promised the kid I would make him wholesome goodness from scratch. He winced and considered retracting his request, but I think he was curious if I was going to flub this one up.
I looked up several clean recipes, and then cranked up my ipod on my spiffy new kitchen stereo - a kitchen appliance requirement - I've decided, and I went to work with my own recipe. So, I think it's pretty clean. If not, it's healthier than the crap in the box. Right?
Mac-N-Cheese on the Rocks
2 cups 100% whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 cup plus a little extra skim milk
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
a little grind of nutmeg (a little bit goes a long way here, y'all)
1 8oz bag of grated sharp cheddar (that's the less than clean part)
A handful or two of whole wheat panko crumbs
That's all. I opted out of butter. I was apprehensive to do so. But still, it rocked. So here's what you do:
Boil your macaroni per the directions on the back of the box. Drain it. Throw your flour in a bole & grab a whisk and whisk in about 1/3 of the milk. Get it all mixed up - no lumps. Then keep on whisking the rest of the milk in. Grate some nutmeg and add salt and pepper and whisk all that up, then pour the mixtrue into a medium pot and heat on medium while continiuing to whisk constantly. Once the milk gig is warm, start stiring inthe cheese in intervals of handfuls. A handful - then whisk while it melts. Then after it melts, throw in another handful.
Aw, yeah! Do you see the great cheeseness in the pan in front of you!? Wholesome Goodness, I say! Okay, now back to work.
Off the heat and throw in your cooked & drained macaroni. Stir all that up and then put it in a greased (with olive oil or Pam spray) casserole dish. How big you say? Big enough to hold all that macaroni...doi.
Then in a small bowl, get a couple of handfuls of the panko and a handful of grated cheese. What? You used all the cheese I told you to already? I know. Just grab some of whatever you have. I used all my sharp cheddar too, so I grabbed whatever was in the fridge which turned out to be colby jack. A harder cheese like Parmesan or Romano would be good too. It's not rocket science, folks, which is why I'm able to do it. Mix that up and sprinkle a yummy layer over the macaroni & cheese already in that casserole dish.
Admire your work. Then bake it in a 375 degree-preheated oven for 20 minutes. After that, I broiled it to get that toasty brown gig on top. However, be warned - you throw anything on broil - stick around and keep an eye on it. Or you'll be eating burnt cheese. And why would you ever destroy all that cheese goodness you just worked so hard for?
This tastes nothing like any boxed version. So, your kids won't be too sure of it. But they'll be wowed and intrigued. And again, if you're like me, they'll eat it. Because you cooked it. It's what's for dinner, dammit.
After I made this, I remembered a tip I meant to try. I read it somewhere. So, I'll share: you can bake the Mac-N-Cheese in muffin tins. Then do the sprinkle of panko and cheese in each muffin tin. The kids would love their own little serving like that. So, we'll try that next time.
I served this up with some steamed broccoli. I asked the kids if they wanted me to throw the broccoli in to the Mac-N-Cheese. They said no. Well, really they exclaimed, "NO!" But they appreciated me giving them a choice. I hit a bite of Mac-N-Cheese with the broccoli, and it was a great fork combo.
Another idea - I have an Ina Garten recipe book and she puts tomato slices on top. It's a great combo of flavors.
Lucy gave this recipe a thumbs up.
Max gave it an "Ehhhh. It's okay." Which is better than gagging, suggesting he's allergic to it, or throwing it at me, I guess. And then the next day, he asked if he could have the leftovers. I win!
So, try it. Let me know if you liked it and if your kids ate it.
That's how I roll.
Song of the Day: Recipe for Love - Harry Connick, Jr.
great post as usual!