Wholesome mac 'n' cheese with veggies for your toddler

This still has cheese and milk and a little butter, but it is also made with whole wheat pasta and chock full of veggies. An easy all in one meal that your toddler and the big people in the house will down with gusto. It's also a great easy to reheat casserole to bring to a new mom as a "sunshine meal" (that's why I'm making the mac 'n' cheese pictured below in a disposable pan).

I've taken an old recipe my mom used for us growing up and made it about as quick and easy as a dinner dish could be (caveat: assuming you have a food processor).

Here's what you need...
EASY WHOLE WHEAT MAC AND CHEESE WITH VEGGIES

8 oz. whole wheat pasta (penne, spirals, easy ones like these for tots to hold are good)

1 sweet bell pepper
2 medium green zuchinni
2 medium carrots
(or the equivalent of the above in fresh, seasonal veggies - about 4 cups shredded, packed)

8 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper (if you want)
2 cups hot milk (I use a glass 2 cup measure to heat the milk in the microwave)

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I make them whenever I have bread around that's getting a little stale and keep them in the freezer)

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Start out by putting water on to boil to make the pasta. Next wash the veggies and put them through a grater blade in the food processor.


Once the vegetables are grated in the food processor, transfer them to another bowl and put in the metal blending blade. Now it's time to make the "sauce." Check the water pot on the stove and ideally it's boiling so you can start cooking the pasta now according to the directions on the package. Once the pasta is in the pot, I set a timer for 3 minutes LESS than it will take the pasta to cook thoroughly. When the timer rings I throw in the grated veggies to just cook briefly.

Put the milk in the microwave to heat. While that's going on, with the metal blending blade in place put the cheese cubes, flour, butter, salt, and pepper in the processor bowl. Once the milk is almost boiling, cover and turn on the processor and start pouring the milk slowly (and carefully) in through the feeding tube. The cheese will melt as the milk pours in and if you let it run for about 40 seconds it will turn into a nice cheese sauce.


Hopefully the timer has rung and you've added the veggies. After a few minutes when the pasta and veggies are ready, you can strain it. Now put the pasta and veggies in a casserole dish. I believe I use a 2 quart. Cover the pasta with the cheese sauce and stir to mix. Cover this with the bread crumbs. Put the pan in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. It's done when it's bubbling. YUM.
I'm actually curious how this stacks up cost-wise to store bought organic mac n cheese and veggies so I'm going to try to do that ounce for ounce cost comparison in the next week and will post.