True story, I've never made *homemade* Mac and Cheese before. That's right, I’ve somehow survived my whole adult life without the queen of comfort food entering in my kitchen. And since it was my first time (during the work week) I had no time to focus on anything else. I had to seriously pay attention because while I can master the most complicated recipes with my eyes closed, it's the simple meals that get me every time. (I always burn grill cheese) So I asked myself, can mac and cheese count as a meal? Of course it can if you add a veggie (broccoli) and meat (sliced organic ham). Right? The noodles are the carbs and the cheese is the dairy… I would venture to say this covers the entire food pyramid, no?
It was quick, it was easy ... and I'd do it again. But next time I would likely do 1/2 regular elbow macaroni and 1/2 whole wheat macaroni for 1/2 the guilt. I used all whole wheat noodles and it was too naturally al dente for my liking. Speaking of guilt, the recipe came from Cooking Light so I actually felt like I was doing the responsible thing.
Ingredients
10 ounce large elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson), divided
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
8 teaspoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
3 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3/4 cup)
My additions:
2 cups of chopped cooked broccoli
2 cups of ham lunchmeat (cut into small pieces)
Preparation
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Set aside.
2. Preheat broiler to high.
3. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic to pan; cook 3 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring frequently (do not brown). Stir in 1 cup stock; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute. Combine remaining 1 1/4 cups stock, milk, and flour; stir with a whisk until flour dissolves. Add milk mixture to garlic mixture, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Remove milk mixture from heat; add cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta to milk mixture, broccoli and ham, tossing to coat. Let stand 5 minutes. Pour pasta mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheddar evenly over pasta mixture. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Let stand 5 minutes.
My 9month absolutely old loved it- she ate it all right up! My picky 2 year old said “No Thank You Mommy.” Sigh. Well at least he has manners. The good news is, he helped me make it and discovered his new love for uncooked broccoli. Hey, I’ll take that!
Enjoy!
Karen