Hi everyone. Jessica Seinfeld was right (or the lady from whom she stole the book idea, The Sneaky Chef). I found some leftover jars of babyfood someone gave me and was tired of seeing them sit in my cabinet. As I was making mac ‘n’ cheese , I felt a little devilish when I realized that the sweet potatoes resembled the color of my cheddar in the macaroni. Hmmmm, could it possibly work? Would I be wasting the whole pot of pasta if my kids detected the vegetable flavor and refused to eat it? Could I take the risk? Would I be unjustifiably angry and annoyed at my kids if they rejected the meal? I dared to try and I was astounded to see that it worked. I mixed the jars of sweet potato baby food in and NOONE was the wiser. I could NOT believe it. My daughter can sniff out a vegetable a mile away but she had no idea. She must have been distracted by all the cheese.
Another reader wrote in another suggestion to get kids to eat:
“btw, totally enjoying your blog! my kids are good eaters but i have discovered a little secret to trying new items… they love sour cream so i let them mix in a little spoonful of it with mystery items and… gone! tonight their choices for dinner are either a carrot-cheddar soup or lentil soup (made this morning while on a conference call). the sour cream mix-in will turn any idea of resistance into delicious. it works!”
Here’s my recipe:
Please-Don’t-Sue-Me-Jessica Seinfeld-Mac ‘N’Cheese:
1 10 oz. box multigrain Barilla penne or other brand, cooked and drained
2 TBS flour
2 TBS butter
about 3/4 cup whole milk and maybe more if needed
2-3 TBS cream cheese
about 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
2 sneaky jars of sweet potato baby food or your own puree or even carrots, maybe, since they are orange
In a med. sauce pan, combine milk, cream cheese, butter and flour on med-low heat. Stir constantly until it is a thick sauce. If it is too thick , add a bit more milk. Add in the cheese and stir until melted in. Add baby food (hee-hee) and blend it all together. Add to cooked pasta, stir it up and serve to unsuspecting diners. What a coup! Enjoy…
4 Responses
My friend Kim pureed left over sweet potatoes and added them to orange juice when making juice popsicles in the summer. They were consumed without a comment. String beans were not successful. I did this with silken tofu – put into the blender with fruit juice, blend until VERY smooth and pour into the popsicle mold. You can’t use too much or the flavor of the popsicle becomes bland. It was a good way to slip some protein into my toddler’s diet at a time when he eat ONLY fruits and vegetables (weird kid, aren’t I lucky?).
I found that you can add many different veggies/purees to the mac and cheese canvas. If I don’t make the “Deceptively Delicious” mac and cheese recipe, I use store bought Annie’s Organic Bunnies and Cheese or the Alfredo pasta they make and can add broccoli or spinach puree to the alfredo or I add butternut squash, pumpkin or sweet potato puree to the regular cheddar flavor. Also, if your child is a fan of mixed veggies, though they are not as nutritious as some other veg, I mix them right into the mac and cheese with the puree and all and it just seems like mixed veg covered in cheese sauce to my little guy. (I am lucky he would eat them plain as well, but why not sauce it up?)
I made a version of the mac and cheese tonight but replaced sour cream for cream cheese as I didn’t have any cream cheese – and it was divine!
I will admit, it isn’t as rich, but plain yogurt will work wonders in macaroni and cheese as well. An extra benefit, it has a ton of calcium and protein, something that neither cream cheese or sour cream contain.