Macaroni with Cheese
Recipe for macaroni and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar and american slices cheese
- dash nutmeg
- to taste salt & pepper
- 1/3 pound cooked ziti pasta
- 1/4 cup leftover from stuffed artichokes. bread crumbs
- paprika
Instructions
We pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
We had prepared the pasta on Monday. To prevent the pasta from becoming a big clump in the refrigerator, we mixed it with a little oil.
In a medium pot, we melt the butter over low heat. We add the flour and cook for three minutes, stirring often. This butter-flour mixture is known as a roux.
We heat the milk in the microwave on full power for a minute and a half. We whisk the heated milk into the butter-flour mixture and increase to medium heat, stirring often until it comes to a boil. We add salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg. We then remove it from the heat and add all but 2 tablespoons of the shredded cheddar. The sauce is added to the pasta and put into an 8-inch square baking dish.
The bread crumb mixture, reserved cheddar and paprika are sprinkled on the pasta and the dish is baked uncovered for about a half hour. We want the macaroni and cheese to be bubbling and the topping browned.
Ingredients
- ⅓ lb ziti (cooked ahead and tossed with a little oil)
- 1½ tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- nutmeg (a dash)
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup shredded cheddar and American slices
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- paprika
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Heat the oven to 350°F. (Tossing cooked pasta with a little oil keeps it from clumping in the fridge.)
Melt the butter in a medium pot over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook 3 minutes, stirring often, to make a roux.
Microwave the milk 1½ minutes and whisk it into the roux. Raise the heat to medium and stir often until it boils. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, take it off the heat, and stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese.
Kid job
Mix the sauce with the pasta in an 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs, the saved cheese and paprika.
Bake uncovered about 30 minutes, until bubbling and browned on top.