I’ll admit it
I can’t remember ever eating
the boxed Mac and Cheese
There is something about the fake powder cheese
that just doesn’t sound
“yummy”
to me.
I like to be picky about the calories I eat
it must be delicious
for me to expend calories on it!
(if it is delicious, there is no limit!)
We are BIG Alton Brown fans around here
when we had cable/tv
we watched him on Food Network all the time
Food Network is the only thing
I miss about not having cable 😛
This is basically his recipe
with a few changes that I have
including adding a veggie
Adds to the creaminess of the dish
and gets a veggie into your kids
double score!
It is creamy, EASY, and delicious
with no cream or “fake” cheeses
I made it last night
but didn’t get to it until after my Zumba class
so my family got to it first
Yeah…
they must have been hungry,
because we usually have plenty of leftovers
but there was barely enough left for me!
It did turn out exceptionally good last night!
Ingredients:
- 8 oz (1/2 lb) of pasta shells or elbows – we use whole wheat shells
- 4 TBSP butter – I use smart balance
- 2 eggs
- 6 oz evaporated milk – to be honest, I don’t notice too much of a different between the evap milk and regular milk. It is slightly creamier with the evap milk, but if you don’t have it, just use regular milk and it will turn out just fine!
- Hot sauce – to liking. A few drops in our house
- Fresh Black Pepper
- 1 tsp ground mustard (I dislike mustard, but this way tastes fine to me!)
- 10 oz shredded Cheese – I use a mixture of different cheeses. If you only have cheddar, it will taste great!! However if you have a mixture of cheeses, it just adds another level of yummy flavor
- 1/2 head of Cauliflower – my secret ingredient! It makes the sauce even creamier and adds veggies at the same time!!
Directions:
Steam your Cauliflower. Mash it once soft, or if like me, use your food processor to mash it!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water – if desired. Boil the pasta until cooked. While pasta is boiling, in a small bowl, mix the eggs, milk, hot sauce, pepper, and ground mustard. When pasta is cooked, drain it, and put it back in the hot pan, adding the butter to the pasta and put the pot back on the stovetop on low heat. Add and mix in the milk/egg mixture and the mashed Cauliflower to the pasta. Add in the cheese. Cook on medium/low until the cheese is melted. Will be creamy and delicious!!
Enjoy! and you get a Vegetable into your kids at the same time 🙂
Last night, I used a mixture of Cheddar, Colby Jack, Mexican Blend, and a little Parmesan. Basically, I was using up the end of a couple different blocks of cheese – it was DELICIOUS!! A little Swiss and Provolone are great too, and I have used, depending what is in my fridge and what needs used… Now, if you want to slightly raise the creaminess factor even more, add in a couple of slices of the Kraft 2% cheese slices… It does taste good, but then there is a question on whether that is “real” cheese…
