After recently making note of the sodium content in boxed macaroni and cheese (and not just Kraft), I decided to attempt making my own. I say attempt not because I thought I couldn’t do it but because I thought Grace wouldn’t eat it. She has turned up her nose before at white cheddar macaroni or the shell variety. It’s original yellow mac for her or nothing.
I wanted to start with something as simple and quick as possible and then work my way up to a more involved preparation if need be. I think we came pretty close on the first try.
I started with this recipe, which is just macaroni, butter and cheddar cheese. It looked a little sticky rather than creamy and was a bit bland so I added a bit more butter and two Tablespoons of vanilla yogurt, which gave it just a bit of tang. I put the bowls on the table, called the kids over and held my breath. (I made sure Grace didn’t see me preparing it so she wouldn’t know it was something different.)
She first looked at it kind of funny and I thought she would notice that the elbows were fatter and shorter and the cheese less yellow than usual. But she didn’t. She took one bite, made a mad face and pushed it away. Shoot! Then she said “needs more milk.” So I added a little milk to her bowl and nuked it a bit. She ate a few bites and said it still needed more milk. She asked if it was leftover macaroni (which neither she or I like because it’s dry). I told her no and she said OK and ate some more once I added more milk.
When she said she didn’t want any more, I asked if she liked it and … she … said … YES!
So, here’s the recipe I’m going with next time:
8 oz. macaroni, cooked and drained.
3 Tbsp. butter
1 C. cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. vanilla yogurt
1/4 C. milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Once they are used to that, I might get bold and add some pureed squash or sweet potatoes instead of the yogurt to boost the nutrition and the yellow color.
Not only is this way just as easy as the box kind, it has waaaaaay less sodium, no artificial colors and no unpronounceable ingredients. (Annie’s, whose nutritional panel is pictured above, gets props for at least having no artificial colors or unpronounceable ingredients. They do offer a low-sodium variety as well, but it’s not as low as making it yourself.)
For more kid-friendly recipes, visit the My Cup 2 Yours link-up.
I’ve tried a few different homemade mac & cheese recipes that I haven’t minded but Terry was never too thrilled with them.
If it meets Grace’s approval it just may have some hope at our house too!
I may make this for supper tonight!
This wasn’t very good reheated (not that the box stuff is great either) so I’m still looking for the perfect recipe.
What a great recipe. And I agree–way better than the boxed version. I like how you added vanilla yogurt; I never would’ve thought of that. Thanks so much for joining in and sharing this!
Genny
Wow, I am all for homemade stuff. I try to do it as much as possible. It tooks super good.
I might give this a shot for lunch tomorrow. In the fall I experimented with a few stove-top variations, after noticing the sodium of Annie’s, and never found one I loved. Rebecca always thought the boxed was better, but I’d be willing to stick with homemade if it were something I really liked. Hopefully we’ll both enjoy this!
Totally stealing this and trying it on the pickiest mac & cheese eater I know, my husband. The kid will eat anything with cheese even implied in it.
Jessica made this recipe tonight. DELICIOUS! Great job posting it.
Even more impressive was the fact that Abigail at every piece of her dinner tonight. She loved it, as did Jessica and I!
YAY. I’m glad you guys liked it.
I don’t remember what was in it, but I know Alton Brown did an episode where he made a “from scratch” version of boxed mac-n-cheese.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/stove-top-mac-n-cheese-recipe/index.html
Eggs? That’s interesting. I’ll give this one a try next time. Thanks Nicki.
I’ve tried this recipe before and didn’t like it. I would at least omit the mustard and hot sauce if you try this.
I was planning to omit the hot sauce but thought the mustard might be good. If you didn’t like it though, I know Grace won’t!
I have always heard that it’s so super easy to make homemade mac and cheese but I’ve never been brave enough to really try it. You’re recipe makes it look simple enought that I could try it. Since the girls are getting so stinkin picky …
Yeah! Sometimes it’s hard to get them to eat the “real” version. Sometimes it’s hard for me to eat it, too.
Very impressed Jen! Cool you made it from scratch and she ate it!!!
Vanilla yogurt? Never would’ve suspected that as an ingredient in mac and cheese, eh? {I’ve seen lots of recipes that sub plain yogurt for things but vanilla is new.}
This Jen-as-cook thing is freaking me out.