Mac and Cheese Sneak

Another idea from Jessica Seinfeld's book "Deceptively Delicious". I didn't like her recipe for mac and cheese however, so I used the general idea of what veggies to sneak in and found my own recipe online. The basic mac recipe is called Four Cheese Macaroni from All Recipes. You can use all cheddar cheese instead of the 4 different cheeses if you prefer.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni (I use whole wheat) For easier pick-up you can use shells or the corkscrew pasta.
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup Muenster cheese (cubed or shredded)
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese (cubed or shredded)
  
• 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese (cubed or shredded)
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 8 ounces cubed processed cheese food
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup sour cream
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pureed cauliflower
  
• 1 cup pureed sweet potato, butternut squash or canned pumpkin.
• 1 cup chopped broccoli. I finely chop it because my son is only one, you can leave it as is if your kids are older or omit if if they are seriously picky eaters.
  

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes you want it to still be firm because it'll cook more in the baking process; drain well and set aside. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in microwave and stir into the macaroni.
2. Mix all the shredded cheeses together.
   
3. In the pan you cooked the macaroni in, combine the the shredded cheeses, cubed processed cheese, half and half, pureed cauliflower and pureed sweet potato. Cook over low heat until cheese are melted, mix well.
   
4. Remove from heat and add the macaroni back to the pan, stir in eggs and then the broccoli.
   
5. Transfer to a lightly greased deep 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese mixture and 1 tablespoon of butter.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbling around the edges; serve.

To make it a more complete meal add in 1 cup of cubed cooked chicken, turkey or tofu

I calculated the nutrition info on this based on a toddler sized serving which I guesstimated at about 20 servings per recipe after I portioned them off in zip loc bags. This is based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so the percentages will be higher for a toddler diet. You can lower the fat content by using non fat sour cream and a lower fat version of the processed cheese spread, but I wouldn't use low fat cheese, it doesn't melt correctly. I also think the dietary fiber is higher because of the pasta I use, I don't think it calculated it correctly.

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
20 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		146.9
Total Fat		11.2 g
	Saturated Fat	6.7 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	2.5 g
Cholesterol		53.8 mg
Sodium		254.8 mg
Potassium		93.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate		6.0 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.7 g
	Sugars	1.0 g
Protein		6.7 g

Vitamin A	44.9 %
Vitamin B-12	3.6 %
Vitamin B-6	3.5 %
Vitamin C	15.3 %
Vitamin D	1.0 %
Vitamin E	1.6 %
Calcium	19.3 %
Copper	1.6 %
Folate	4.3 %
Iron	1.8 %
Magnesium	2.4 %
Manganese	5.1 %
Niacin	0.9 %
Pantothenic Acid	3.1 %
Phosphorus	9.9 %
Riboflavin	7.4 %
Selenium	6.6 %
Thiamin	2.0 %
Zinc	4.0 %