Side Dish - 17th Jan

Side Dish from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

It can be hard to eat healthy foods all the time, especially for parents with kids who want sugary snacks…. BUT you can do yourself (and your kids!) a favor by taking the time to make homemade versions of their favorite foods.

Have you ever looked at the ingredient labels on store-bought Macaroni and Cheese?  Well, the cheese usually starts out as a powder, which even just sounds wrong .  But depending on the brand, you’re likely to see a whole bunch of things in it you can’t even pronounce. Sodium tripolyphosphate?  Of course, even the ingredients you can pronounce are things that you can’t buy in the grocery store. (FD&C Yellow 5 anyone?)

None of that is the kind of thing I’d want to put in my kids’s belly. My Mac and Cheese, although not the lightest in the world, at least has ingredients that your grandmother would recognize. So give it a whirl and tell me which you like better.

No matter which kind you prefer make sure that you have a big pile of veggies or a salad with a smaller serving of the mac and cheese to keep your meal as balanced as possible.

I’ve featured this recipe before on the blog before, but I just made it again this week and Kevin and I have been busy painting and decorating our spare room  (girls like yellow, right??) so you’ll have to forgive the recipe recycling.

Scotty's Mac and Cheese

Ingredients
1 Box Large Pasta Shells (use whole wheat pasta for extra fiber and protein)
¼ cup butter for sauce and ¼ for top of casserole
¼ cup flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion salt to taste
Splash Worcheshire sauce
1 8oz bar of sharp cheddar cheese cubed
1 8oz bar of extra sharp cheddar cheese cubed
2 cups Italian style bread crumbs


1.) Cook pasta as directed by box and set to the side
2.) In a medium saucepan melt butter mixing together with flour over medium heat.
3.) Gradually add milk while stirring. The sauce should get think.
4.) Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic to taste.
5.) Add Worcheshire sauce.
6.) Add sharp cheeses while stirring continuously.
7.) After all the cheese melts combine with pasta and pour into casserole dish.
8.) Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and dob butter on top.
9.) Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until bubbling.
10.) You can take the cover off for the last 5 minutes if you want it crispy on top.
11.) Cool and serve.