Making Mac'N Cheese

Best thing about being homebound is getting more time to cook!

This is a great basic recipe you can tweak to make a family favourite. Remember to add 3 bright colours to the plate to get the variety of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) your body needs to stay healthy.

You can add frozen or fresh broccoli, cauliflower, green peas or edamame or carrots or corn into the pasta just before it’s cooked to blanche them, or use raw cucumber, peppers, carrots or tomatoes to decorate the mac & cheese. Fancy! Don’t forget to send a picture of it to #cooksmartkids to share the JOY!

Mac 'n Cheese

·         2 tablespoons butter

·         1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·         1 cup milk

·         3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

·         5 cups hot cooked macaroni (about 225g uncooked pasta)

·         3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed or Broccoli florets

Cheese sauce:

 Add butter and oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add flour, and sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Gradually add 1 cup milk, stirring constantly with a whisk, but don’t let the milk boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes while stirring or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Add cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

1.      Boil water in pot for pasta.   Cook as directed, one minute less than recommended for al dente (chewy).

2.      Last minute that pasta cooks, add broccoli or peas so they turn bright green

3.      Strain boiling water out of pasta and vegetable.

4.      Place pan over low heat. Stir cheese sauce into pasta, and vegetables and mix well until cheese sauce covered everything; cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.