Cheese Please

Creamy Four-Cheese Macaroni

I am such a kid at heart. And, what kid doesn’t LOVE Mac ‘n’ cheese? I confess, I do enjoy a good box of Kraft with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But, there is something about a powdered cheese that just about does me in when trying to feed my child. (Not that I haven’t given in and fed it to him when needed). This dish puts Kraft to shame, and makes me feel a little healthier all at the same time. My mom gave me the “Cooking Light Complete Cookbook: A Fresh New Way to Cook” for Christmas several years ago, and it has gotten some good usage. I adapted the “Creamy Four-Cheese Macaroni” to fit the needs of our family.

Ingredients:

· 3 Cups uncooked elbow macaroni (try for whole wheat) (also any past will do here)

· 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

· 2 2/3 cups 1% or skim milk

· ¾ cup (3 oz) shredded swiss cheese

· ½ cup (2 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (fresh really does taste better!)

· ½ cup (2 oz) shreeded extrasharp Cheddar cheese

· 3 oz light processed cheese (I don’t like processed cheeses, like Velveeta and American, so I just put a mild cheddar in instead)

· ¼ tsp salt

· Cooking Spray

· Poultry Seasoning (OR crushed onion melba toasts and 1 Tbsp softened unsalted butter)

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions (w/o salting the water), and drain.

2. Spoon flour into a measuring cup and level. Put flour in a large saucepan. Turn stove on to medium heat. Very gradually add the milk, stir with whisk, and cook until thick. Stir constantly. This should take 5-8 min.

3. When flour and milk is completely combined and thick, add all 4 cheeses. Continue stirring with whisk, and cook until cheese melts.

4. Remove from heat.

5. Add macaroni and salt (can easily leave salt out).

6. Pour into serving dish, and add poultry seasoning liberally to the top of the pasta.

Optional:

You can continue on in this recipe and bake it. Use the following instructions if you so desire. Don’t add the poultry seasoning or put in a serving dish.

7. Spray a casserole dish (2 quart) with cooking spray. Gently spoon pasta into the casserole.

8. Sprinkle poultry seasoning (or crushed onion melba toasts combined with the softened butter). Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.

Personally, our family doesn’t like the baked version. We prefer the pasta straight off of the stove while it is still melted and liquidous (is that a word?) If you decide to bake it, it still tastes great, the sauce thickens a little. We also like to experiment with different toppings. Last night we tried “Chipotle Seasoning” and Cavenders “AllPurpose Greek Seasoning.” The first gave the pasta a nice little kick, the latter boosted the taste of the chese. If you fix this for your family or friends, you could leave the toppings off and put several seasonings out for individuals to sprinkle and try.

We have served this as a complete meal (serving size 1 cup) with a veggie side, or as a side dish for Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets (see tomorrow’s post) alongside a veggie. You simply can’t go wrong with this! Enjoy!