Macaroni and Cheese

I am a big fan of pastas made from vegetables, mostly because it helps assuage my "mommy guilt" over the fact that my son does not eat vegetables. I think most parents will agree that your preconceived notions about your children go right out the window pretty much at birth. But you know, I honestly believed that I would not have picky eaters. After all, I'm a professionally-trained chef - I know how to cook and I am passionate about food. I involve my kids in growing vegetables and in cooking - how could I possibly have a picky eater in that environment?? But God does have a sense of humor, and my son literally spit out his first bite of vegetable baby food, and never looked back.

Anyway, he will eat just about any pasta if I put a cheese sauce or tomato sauce on it, and he doesn't realize that the green noodles have spinach in them - at least not yet! I'll have to hide the box once he learns how to read the word spinach. So tonight we had pasta made from carrots and squash, with a nice cheddar cheese sauce. It was bright orange, but it was very delicious as well!

Making macaroni and cheese from scratch is quite easy, you just have to buy a nice sharp cheese. For budget purposes, I don't usually buy fancy cheeses (although I do indulge occasionally). A good extra sharp cheddar does the trick nicely.

First, boil your pasta according to package directions and drain. Preheat your oven to 350. In a large saucepan (I use the same pan that I cooked the pasta in to save dishwasher space), melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour, and stir for a minute or so to cook the flour. Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and a dash of pepper. Pour in 2 cups of milk and whisk quickly so that you don't get lumps. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in about 8 oz of shredded cheese. Taste for salt and pepper and add if needed. Stir in pasta, then pour into an oven-safe casserole dish. Bake for 15 minutes.