Saturday, February 23, 2013

Mom's Sneaky Mac & Cheese

Do you have picky kids?  If not, maybe you are one of the LUCKY ones!!!  But even if you ARE lucky, who doesn't need more veggies in their diet???  And having it completely undetected in this popular comfort food?  that's just a TRIPLE plus!!  The whole process of sneaking veggies and fruits into food isn't a "new" thing for me.  About 2 years ago, I discovered The Sneaky Chef.  I still use some of her purees in our foods now.  One of them being the "orange puree".  BUT, I didn't have any made today.  What I DID have, was some stage 1 baby food my daughter hasn't really touched since she only wants OUR food now.  LIGHT BULB!!!!  I used Carrots and Squash!!  can you see it?  NOPE, can you taste it?  Even BIGGER NOPE!!!   LoL  My Kids inhaled this in a matter of minutes!  Thank goodness the recipe left me with a TON of left overs!!  Which I'll be using for another recipe i have in mind as well!!  So stay tuned for that!!  But first, here is Mom's Sneaky Mac & Cheese!!!



Ingredients:

1.5 lbs Elbow Macaroni
16oz Velveeta Cheese, Cubed
1 stick of butter, Cubed
3/4c Heavy Cream
Garlic Powder
Adobo Seasoning
Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 container stage 1 carrots
1 container stage 1 squash
1 1/2c Mild Cheddar Cheese, Shredded


 My advice to start with is to make sure everything is cubed and all ingredients set next to the stove so you aren't searching while this is being made.

Begin by starting the water to boil to cook the elbow macaroni. DO NOT put oil or salt in.  The end result may end up too salty, and some sauces do not stick to pasta if they are cooked with oil. 


In a large saucepan, on medium heat, place cubes of butter in and let it melt. Add in the Heavy whipping cream and stir until heated through.


Begin adding your spices.  I don't want to give an amount here, because every family is different. Mine, is about a teaspoon of each the Adobo and Garlic powder and maybe a half teaspoon of the cayenne pepper.


Once the seasonings are stirred in, beginning adding about half of the Velveeta Cheese and whisk until melted. Then add in the other half.

Once the Velveeta is completely melted, add in the baby food.


Whisk until completely mixed in.  At this point, I suggest tasting the sauce so that you can see if you need to adjust the seasonings at all.  Sometimes I do, sometimes, I don't.


Add in your shredder Cheddar and continue to whisk more often than not until all melted.


This is the creamy consistency.  Sometimes, I've had to add a tad more whipping  cream to it.  Again, taste test to make sure sauce is how you would like it!!  Keep in mind, that if it is somewhat on the bland side, the macaroni will only cause it to be more bland.  So adding enough seasoning and then just a bit more is key!


Strain your elbow mac well and then add it to the cheese sauce and mix well.  

Variations:
There are a few variations that can be done here.  Before adding in the elbow mac, you can add different meat to this. Say bacon? or hot dogs? or ham??  The possibilities are endless.  Just make sure the meat is heated through before adding the elbow mac. and mixing all together!  

I WILL be messing around with this recipe in the future to "lighten" it up a bit, but for now, it has veggies, and my kids loved it.  What more can I ask for???


8 comments:

  1. I got lucky with vegetable with my son. He loves them! I don't know why but I do not ask questions and just count my blessings. :)

    Found you at Bloggy Moms and loved reading your post.

    Time permits, visit me at http://momlessmom.com/ (Blog)

    I would love you to like my face book page here

    http://www.facebook.com/momlessmom

    or follow me at Twitter https://twitter.com/LuckyMomofKK

    I will sure reciprocate. I am already following you at your blog.

    Thanks

    Vinma

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    1. Vinma,

      Thank you for following my blog!! I do appreciate it!

      I am following your blog now and facebook.

      Thanks!

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  2. Amazing! Love the sneaky food technique! It looks like some great mac/cheese!
    Thanks for your comment on my blog... I'm following you now too!
    So nice to meet you!

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  3. I had a bunch of leftover baby food when my kids were little and I loved using it in baked goods and foods. Great idea! I saw your post on bloggy moms and following you on GFC now. I look forward to your future posts :) You can find me at

    http://wvfrugal-wvsaver.blogspot.com/

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  5. Okay. I don't have any baby food. But this technique comes in handy for sneaking in my bell peppers, onion, etc. My kids quickly turn when they see green or red vegetables in stuff. So, I need to remember and throw them in the food processor and mix it. Sneaking in stuff is definitely a must when it comes to kids. Following you now....

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  6. What a great idea! I love sneaking "goodies" into my kids food:) I have also been known to tell them they are eating chicken when it is really fish..lol! Luckily, I have broke the news to them and they now know. New follower from Bloggy Moms:)
    Shawna B. www.busymomibee.com

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