Thursday, August 27, 2009

Kid friendly macaroni and cheese

This recipe comes from a Boar's Head brand catalog, so of course they'd like for you to buy their products...but if you can't find Boar's Head in your store, I'm sure you could substitute with other brand cheeses. I've put asterisks to further explain some ideas I have.

4 TBSP unsalted butter****
3 TBSP All-purpose flour
2-1/2 cups whole milk
1 lb Boar's Head Yellow American Cheese, chunked*
1/2 tsp dry mustard**
1 lb macaroni, in shapes like pinwheels and spirals***
1/4 cup Boar's Head Vermont Cheddar Cheese, grated
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Coat 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Melt 3 TBSP butter, add four, and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Don't let it brown. Add milk and whisk constantly until thickened: 3 to 5 minutes. Add American cheese, mustard, salt and pepper, and stir until blended. Remove from heat.

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain well, but do not rinse.Mix cooked macaroni with the cheese sauce. Stir until blended. Pur mac and cheese into baking dish. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs. Dot with remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

*You could replace this with cheddar cheese, or for more smoothness, you could use Velveeta.
**Dry mustard will be found with spices etc in your grocery store. It won't be labeled Dry Mustard, it will just be labeled Mustard, but it's a powder, usually in a tin.
***I've even found Disney pasta shapes, so check out all the options to pick something your kids will like.
****It's important to use UNSALTED butter. Makes sense if you think about why. Cheese is pretty salty, so if you have salted butter with cheese, it's going to be entirely too salty. Also keep in mind you can look for reduced fat cheeses to reduce the calorie count of this.

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