Introduction
I have a child who just loves to eat kid-food. You know the type? This is frustrating for any parent, and I do question myself… where did I go wrong, what’s with the aversion to everything green. I often do “hide” vegetables by pureeing them and making “sauce” with them. But sometimes I don’t – like with this Scratch Mac n Cheese. I find satisfaction in knowing that although there aren’t any vegetables, I made it from scratch (home-made) and I know exactly what is in it! It tastes just like restaurant Mac & Cheese. Also, I know there aren’t any GMO / food dye / processed oils / etc. If you are interested in learning about the additives that the food industry puts into our food, check out The Food Babe!
My Scratch Mac n Cheese sauce uses only 5 ingredients: butter, flour, milk, mustard and cheese. I use Dijon mustard but any mustard will do – this adds depth of flavour. Choose a cheese which easily melts (think mozzarella or cheddar) and that you really like!
Ingredients for Scratch Mac n Cheese
- 20 grams butter
- 20 grams flour
- 300 grams milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 50 grams grated cheese (e.g. mozzarella)
- 200 grams macaroni (or any pasta)
Method
- Start cooking the pasta – make according to package directions while you work on the sauce.
- Put the butter in a pan and set it to medium heat. Allow it to melt.
- Measure the milk into a cup and put it into the microwave for a few minutes to take the chill off.
- Add the flour to the butter and whisk until the sauce seizes up like a little ball of play-dough.
- Add a little milk – maybe 2 tablespoons, and whisk until the play-dough returns. Then repeat, adding a little milk and whisking. As the amount of sauce gets more volume, it will take more milk at a time. Keep whisking until you have a nice thick sauce and all of the milk is gone – this will take 5 minutes or so.
- Take the sauce off the heat and stir through the mustard.
- Add the cheese and stir again.
- The pasta should have finished cooking; drain it and return to the hot pot you cooked it in.
- Add the cheese sauce to the pasta, mix and serve!
I hope you enjoy this Scratch Mac n Cheese – please let me know if you liked it! Check out my blog for other ideas. Another recipe kids love is my Healthy Peanut Butter Balls!
