April 4-6 Stove Top Mac and Cheese



April 4     Greek beef stew with feta(supperworks) and portuguese corn bread
April 5     Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Poppy Seed Bread
April 6     Stove top Mac and Cheese

I have a weird kid who doesn't seem to like a lot of "kid" foods. I have tried a few baked mac and cheese dishes and he never loves them and even if will eat a small portion sometimes but rarely finishes and will not request for it, that's for sure. I am always a bit jealous when I see all of the delicious versions of mac and cheese that Dianne gets to cook for her mac and cheese loving family because it's a waste of time and money in this house. I don't hate it either, but I don't really like to eat foods that are that gooey and heavy so the baked versions are only for Shack. Maybe I should start sending Shack over to Dianne's for dinner.



Much to my shock and horror, Shack likes to make Kraft Dinner from time to time and keeps a secret stash out in the back hallway. Little Shack seems to love it too and I have to admit that if there is a little bit left over, I will eat it right out of the pot but always  hidden away in the kitchen and I NEVER put in a bowl which makes it almost like I never ate it. This isn't a good situation for anyone so I decided to try a stove top mac and cheese and see if it would get a better reaction than the baked dishes that the kid turns his nose up at. I was going to do Martha Stewart's version but I didn't want the onions and the roux and all that business and this Alton Brown recipe looked like it was going to be the closest to Kraft Dinner that I was going to find AND it got rave reviews.

Stove Top Mac and Cheese
adapted from Alton Brown
3 servings

1/4 lb pasta shells (I added an extra handful & that was a good thing-would do closer to 1/2 lb next time)
2 tbls butter
1 egg
5 oz of evaporated milk
1/2 tsp kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
1/4 tsp hot dry mustard
5 oz sharp cheddar grated


In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until done to your liking and turn the burner down to low.
Return the cooked, drained pasta to the pot, put on the burner that is now at low heat  and add the butter, stirring to melt.

Whisk together the milk, egg, hot sauce, salt and pepper and the dry mustard and stir that into the pasta. Add the shredded cheese and stir for another 3 minutes or so, until it's nice and creamy.

I like mine with lots of black pepper



So, Shack really liked it and Little Shack liked it but didn't love it. Again. I think I will try this again with much milder cheese next time because we both think it was the sharpness of the cheese that was putting him off a bit. I will also use less actual cheese because I think it was a just a little thicker than I would like and it could actually be less cheesey, in general.I halved the recipe that was to feed 6 to 8 for one that would feed 3 to 4 and it  barely made enough to feed the three of us with Shack having a really big bowl and Little Shack and I having smaller bowls, so keep that it mind. If it were a side dish and not the entree, it would probably do 4 people

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