“Why do they want dinner every single night?!” That’s my favorite one those ecards that you see all over Facebook. You’ll notice I don’t often post recipes. Making sure my family eats healthy is a priority but I do not enjoy cooking! And the dishes afterward are even more fun.
Mac n’ Cheese is a quick and easy meal when you’re pressed for time (which I feel as though I always am!), but it’s not the dinner of champions so we only do it once in a while. Fortunately my kids like Annie’s Organic White Cheddar & Shells because I will not give them Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. It’s full of harmful ingredients like artificial food dyes. The NY Times recently reported that a warning label was found on imported packages.
Nothing beats homemade and honestly, this version isn’t much more work than the boxed stuff:
-Boil the pasta, I cook the whole box so we’ll have leftovers, macaroni noodles, rotini, whatever you like (to make it a bit healthier, I use a combo of whole grain & veggie)
-after the pasta boils, drain it, transfer it back in to the pot & pour 1 cup of organic milk over pasta (you can use cream, I’ve tried both and my kids don’t notice a difference) & 1 cup organic vegetable broth
-sprinkle organic mild shredded cheddar cheese over pasta (8 – 12 oz., 12 if your kids like it cheesy like mine do)
-sprinkle a dash of pepper and sea salt if desired
-stir to mix & coat the pasta with the cheese, if you’d like, sprinkle panko bread crumbs on top, bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve them with a side of kale chips and non appetit!
Before serving, I drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil so they get a dose of healthy monounsaturated fats (MUFAs). If you don’t use organic cheese just make sure it’s at least made with milk from cows that are not treated with antibiotics or Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), also known as Bovine Somatotropin (BST), an artificial hormone injected into cows to increase milk production. Food Babe suggest steaming cauliflower, grating it and mixing it in. She says the kids won’t even notice. If you try this recipe, let me know how your kids like it!
