Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Macaroni and Cheese - Dressed Up

I’m not sure I’ve ever met a child who did not like macaroni and cheese. As a mom, it’s a quick and easy lunch or dinner for the kids, but not a personal favorite to serve adults.
Here are several ideas to dress up plain old macaroni and cheese and turn it into a true family meal that even adults will enjoy.

Start from scratch. Home made macaroni and cheese beats the taste of a box and powdered cheese any time. Here’s a simple recipe to create your base of macaroni and cheese:

1 package macaroni
1 c. grated Colby Jack cheese
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
Sprinkle of flour

Boil your macaroni shells until soft. Place in a 9 x 13 inch pan and sprinkle enough flour to lightly cover your shells. Add grated cheeses over top. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 1/2 hour. Uncover for the last 5 minutes of baking.

You can add just about anything to this base. You can add ground meat, or ground turkey. You can add cut up hot dogs for the kids. You can add shredded chicken, and of course you can add any veggies you like. To make it simple add the frozen vegetable mixture. There are carrots, peas and corn in the simple mixtures.

Want some crunch for your macaroni and cheese? Add some meat to the mac and cheese and then put the mixture into a taco shell. Top with some lettuce and tomato and you have a very interesting taco.

If you enjoy spicy foods, try adding some spicy sausage to your macaroni and cheese. You can also add half a package of the hot taco seasoning mix for a macaroni and cheese with a kick. You can also add a teaspoon full of hot sauce to the casserole.

Have you ever made a 7 layer dip? Try using hot macaroni and cheese as your base. Then add sliced olives, sliced onions and diced tomatoes on top. Grab some tortilla chips and start dipping.
Have fun with your mac and cheese. Add whatever you have in the refrigerator and create your own wonderful combinations.

Audrey
http://mytupperware.com/audreyoka

10 comments:

Linda S said...

my kind of recipe...under 5 ingredients!

Suzanne's Blog, Jane's Blog said...

Congrats on being the FBOTD at the mom blogs. Also I was a child who did not like mac and cheese. I like it somewhat more now, go figure. (janes blog)

danette said...

I'm not much of a cook, so dressing up some mac and cheese is just about right for me :)

My older boys love mac & cheese but the little man won't touch it, doesn't like anything that's not crunchy.

Anonymous said...

I'll have to try this one! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog!

Anonymous said...

I did this the other night and added tuna and peas!! Yummy :)

Anonymous said...

i love mac and cheese, and this recipe seems so easy!

Tammy said...

Audrey...I've always loved mac and cheese. My son always requested it when he was a young boy.

However, I've never made it from scratch...always from the box.

Your suggestions of dressing up mac and cheese sounds interesting. I'll have to give these a try...sometime. :)

Danielle said...

Audrey, my kids adore mac-n-cheese and i am going to try your recipe!! you and i have the love for cooking in our soul!! thanks for being a great friend!!! let you know how they like it, i know they will!!

Anonymous said...

This sounds great!

Jennifer said...

Surprisingly--one of my kids doesn't like mac 'n cheese--but I'll bet w/ some of these additions (especially the hot dogs!) he would eat it. You've got the best tips on here!!