Last week I was so thrown off by our whirlwind trip that I actually typed my What’s for Dinner Wednesday post on Thursday.
And I thought it was Wednesday for most of the day.
I guess that’s what happens when you travel Sunday/Monday rather than Saturday/Sunday. It’s like having a Monday holiday and then you’re all thrown off for the rest of the week.
This week, I think I know what day it is and I’m pretty sure that it’s really Wednesday this time, so I’m going to try again.
Today’s recipe is from the cookbook that epicurious compiled with all of the winning healthy lunchtime recipes in it. You can download your own copy of that cookbook with just one click, here.
We have tons of cookbooks but it seems like we always love getting a new one. Of course this one was extra, extra special and we’ve been pouring through it, already trying out new recipes.
The first full day we were back, the girls had already made a mental list of all the things they wanted to make from this cookbook, which was almost everything in it. However, it wasn’t a grocery shopping week and we didn’t have everything for the ingredients for most of the recipes. We did find a couple though, and today’s is the first one we made, that first Tuesday we were back. I was still so tired from the trip that I could hardly focus on anything that day, so I was glad to have a healthy recipe that also involved all three kids in the kitchen. They each had a job making this recipe, so that was a tremendous help to me. We had to make some minor adjustments to incorporate what we did or didn’t have on hand, but overall we had enough of everything to make it work.
Everyone gave this recipe a thumbs up and I’d definitely make it again.
MACARONI CASSEROLE
By: Grace Ratchford, Wyoming
Age 12
Everyone actually liked everything in this recipe. That’s a rarity when you’re cooking for a family of five.
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni (we didn’t have wheat this time)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup of 1% milk (we had skim)
2 and 1/2 cups of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I didn’t have kosher, I used regular)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 organic turkey hot dogs, boiled and cut into bite sized pieces (I didn’t have organic, but they were turkey)
1 small bunch broccoli, steamed and cut into bite sized pieces (I used a bag of frozen broccoli florets)
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Everyone had a hand in making this recipe, which I think is what made it extra delicious!
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool.
3. In the same saucepan over moderate heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir for one minute. Gradually add the milk and cook, whisking until hot and thick. Add the Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the noodles, stirring well to combine. Stir in the hot dogs and broccoli.
4. Transfer the noodle mixture to the greased pan and sprinkle with cornflakes and parsley. Bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes, and serve.
This is a great recipe for lunch or for dinner! Thanks Grace!
The Whole bag of Chips 
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