Red pepper mac’n’cheese with greek yogurt and kale.
Yesterday morning we took a family walk to the park. It was uneventful – until we had to go. My son Kohl was staying to hang out with his friends and the rest of us were heading back – except Arlo, my 2 year old, did not want to leave Kohl. He screamed and flailed all the way home. When we got in the door, I put him down and let my husband and the other kids try to calm him. I was really hungry, so I heated up some mac’n’cheese left over from The Veggie Grill the night before and washed a red pepper. I scarfed both down. Big mistake.
The mac’n’cheese was Arlo’s mac’n’cheese. I knew it was his mac’n’cheese. I ordered it for him, I blew on every bite to cool it down as he requested, I packaged it up to take home so he could have it later, and then I ate it. So, now Arlo’s meltdown over leaving Kohl has turned into a meltdown over Mama eating his mac’n’cheese. I felt really bad because I knew I shouldn’t have eaten it. I apologized and offered to make him some more mac’n’cheese. He was not interested in the offer and just wanted to clutch the empty cardboard box that had contained his precious mac’n’cheese to his chest and cry big, wet sobbing tears. I decided that all I could do at this point to help soothe my poor, distraught toddler was to get cooking.
Quick homemade mac’n’cheese ingredients.
I looked first for boxed mac’n’cheese, or as Canadian’s call it, Kraft Diner (or even KD). We had none, so I started thinking about how to make homemade mac’n’cheese. I’ve never made it, but I’ve seen recipes and I’ve made other cream and cheese sauces, so I figured I could wing it. We didn’t have much cheese, but what we did have was good and sharp – a specialty cheddar. I pulled it out and put a pot of water on the stove to boil.
Because we didn’t have a lot of cheese – and because we don’t drink dairy milk and only had vanilla almond – I had to find something else to go along with it to make enough sauce. I scanned the fridge, “We have greek yogurt, great – that works! Oh, and margarine – I know cream sauces need that too.” But, I still didn’t think it would be enough. Then, perhaps because I had just eaten red pepper and it seemed to go so well with the mac’n’cheese, or perhaps because I’d seen a recipe for red pepper mac’n’cheese before, I decided to figure out how to add it to the dish. I also saw a few leftover bits of kale and since Arlo loves kale and I hate to waste food, I decided those would be going into the dish too.
Arlo helps with mac’n’cheese.
I set out to make my mac’n’cheese and by this point Arlo had started to calm down and become interested in the cooking process. My son Max set up the Kitchen Helper stool by the stove and Arlo climbed on to see what I was doing. Arlo helped me make the mac’n’cheese and then we sat down to eat it together. He was even very patient while I took time to take pictures so that I could document it here on my blog. We both gobbled up the dish and I think I’ll be making it again.
My red pepper mac’n’cheese is not as fancy as others (see link above), but it is simple, quick and delicious. It has few ingredients and the sauce can be made from start to finish in the time it takes to boil the noodles. It’s not a extremely precise recipe either – that’s just not my style. I don’t have the time, energy or patience to be a master at everything, but I am quite good at coming up with solutions using whatever resources I have on hand – that’s what Fem Hack is all about. So, here is the recipe for you to enjoy, and please go ahead and modify it as you see fit – again, that’s what this blog is all about, making things work for yourself.
Red Pepper Mac’n’Cheese with greek yogurt and kale
Adding the kale to the mac’n’cheese.
1 small chunk of cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup shredded)
1 large blob of margarine (about 3 tablespoons)
1 large blob of plain greek yogurt (about 3 tablespoons)
1 red pepper
3 leaves of kale (chopped)
3 cups noodles (about 4 cups cooked)
Salt and pepper to taste
Put a pot of water on to boil. Add the margarine into another pot and put on the stove over medium-low heat. Grate the cheese into the pot with the margarine and let the two melt together. Cut the red pepper into small slices and put in a glass dish. Microwave the red pepper on high for 1 minute. Chop the kale into bite-size pieces.
Grating cheese straight into the pot gets it melting sooner.
When the water is boiling, add the noodles. Puree the cooked red pepper in a food processor or blender. When the margarine and cheese is melted, add the greek yogurt and stir. Let this mixture simmer for a few minutes then add the red pepper puree.
Stir the red pepper puree into the mac’n’cheese sauce.
When the noodles are soft, drain and rinse them. Mix the sauce and kale in with the noodles. Heat and stir for a few minutes to incorporate the noodles and sauce and cook the kale. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Steamy, cheesy goodness.
Toddler approved, healthy mac’n’cheese.