Mac and Cheese: Some tricks to make it better for you
And if she could eat only one thing, it would be mac n' cheese.
Some years ago, I tried to find some way to make that horrid old comfort food just a wee bit healthier. With all that fat and all those carbs, there isn't any way to make it healthy, but I could certainly try to add some good-for -you stuff to the mix.
Experiments on and off through the years have yielded mixed results. The reviews were always "Excellent". But that wasn't good enough. In our family, we always quote an aunt who gives you three choices when reviewing her cooking: "Good", "Excellent" or "Best You Ever Had".
I was going for "Best You Ever Had". And, finally, I got it. (Mind you, all those "Excellents" had come with healthy stuff snuck in.
A "Best You Ever Had" rating for taste...and there was good stuff snuck into the mix.
So here's the secret...but, (shhhhhh) don't tell the kids (even the grown ones).
"Best You Ever Had" Mac n' Cheese
2 cups of cooked elbow (or other small) pasta
1/2 pound of cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup of butter
2 carrots, sliced very thin
1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
- Put the carrots, the chick peas and the broth in the blender and process until it is smooth and creamy. Keep scraping the sides and pureeing the mix until it is creamy,
- Put the cheese, the butter and the milk in the top of a double boiler over very hot, but not boiling water. Stir until the cheese is melted.
- Mix in the creamy bean and veggie mixture and remove from the heat.
- Keep stirring until the mixture is completely incorporated into the cheese.
- Pour the cheese over the pasta in a baking dish. Stir to coat all the pasta.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
For an absolutely horrible-for-you snack, try deep-frying chunks of mac n' cheese. I don't recommend this, for health reasons, but I saw this on a cooking show and thought I'd share it since we were talking about mac.
Lacto Vegetarian.
