As per my usual cooking strategy, I made enough to feed an army
For me Mac n’ Cheese is a labour of love. Literally.
I don’t eat the stuff but it is well up there on hubby’s list of All Time Favourite Things to Eat (along with cheesecake and anything involving meat..though not meaty cheesecake because that’s just disgusting) so I make it for him.
The first couple of times I kept it clean.
Gradually though I realised that mac n’ cheese could be an excellent vehicle for incorporating all kinds of veg. Think about it – what doesn’t taste better with cheese?
In fact, the first person to name me a veg that doesn’t taste amazing slathered in a cheese sauce gets $100,000,000*
Is cheese better than cake? Sometimes I wonder...
In this incarnation I’ve gone for two of the best, most nutritious, vegetables ever to hit the supermarket scene – broccoli and kale. They make a great addition to the otherwise stodgy carb loaded casserole and you can rest easy knowing that at least something green as gone into your belly.
*I cannot make good on this offer. If I could, I would be hanging out on a luxury yacht, quaffing champagne with bits of gold in it. Not blogging.
Kale & Broccoli Mac n’ Cheese (serves 6)
- 4 large leaves kale, shredded thinly
- 2 bunches broccoli, cut to florets
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
- 3 cups macaroni pasta
- 1/2 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsps butter
- 1 tbsp flour (I used wholewheat but plain white is fine)
- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil leaves
- Add the macaroni and broccoli to a saucepan of salted boiling water and boil for 10 minutes until soft.
- While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Add a tbsp of flour and stir together with the butter to form a paste. Gradually add the milk, about a tbsp at a time, and whisking constantly to ensure it doesn’t go lumpy. You want your sauce to be thick and creamy but not so thick that it starts sticking to the bottom of the pan. If it starts to thin add more flour (confession: I was too impatient with my milk and ended up adding 2 more tbsps of flour), if it’s too thick pour in a little milk. That’s really all there is to it. Just ensure you are constantly whisking as it can clump easily.
the cheese sauce, testing my patience
- When the sauce reaches the desired consistency (should take around 15 minutes of careful watching and whisking), stir in the nutmeg and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Gently fry the onion, kale and garlic in butter over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the kale wilts and the onions turn translucent.
- Pour the macaroni and broccoli into an 8in x 11in casserole dish. Add the kale, onion and garlic and stir until all the ingredients are mixed. Pour in the cheese sauce, stirring again to make sure everything is evenly coated.
one last photo before it hits the oven
- Sprinkle the remaining cheddar, basil, oregano and parmesan on top. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.
What a wonderful way to make something no so healthy very healthy!
Bacon does NOT taste amazing smothered in cheese, fresh off the grill BBQ’d ribs do NOT taste amazing smothered in cheese. I could go on but then you’d go broke. Made from scratch mac & cheese, with no box in the vicinity is something I grew up on. I absolutely love cheese and I absolutely love vegetables, but vegetables in my mac & cheese???
Cheese don’t taste too good on collad greens either……just sayin…
Love your blog and your recipes.
Hey Jueseppi – I don’t think I’ve ever had collard greens but they look a lot like kale right?! So perhaps I have and thought they were just generic curly-leafed greens.
As for your denial of meat covered in cheese, I dunno, I’m having serious issue with this. I don’t think we can be blogging friends any more
Actually, it works out well – all the more for me!
Oh I love cheese, don’t get me wrong. And regardless of being blogging friends or not….I’m following you anywhere you go…..you can C.O.O.K.
Hope you had a great Easter!!
Thank you! I did! Was away travelling so happy to be back (and cooking again). Hope yours was awesome as well.
That should be collard greens, not collad.
I never actually had Mac and cheese… But I were too, I’d probably incorporate veggies too..
And you’re right, cheese might be better than cake
Ahahaha, the cheese cake battle rages
I’d never had mac n cheese til I married a North American and now I see the appeal, it’s the most stodgy but comforting stuff there is..
I love this because the key to beginning a healthy diet is sneaking vegetables wherever you can and making every meal more nutrient dense! Kale AND broccoli in the mac and cheese? Genius. I actually like carrots and cauliflower in mine sometimes too.
It’s nice to see I’m not the only one who cooks food in large enough quantities to feed an army! Ha!
Oooh carrots and cauliflower would be delicious. Thanks for checking it out
What a calcium superstar! And I thought my cream of broccoli soup was rich in the stuff. Adding kale and broccoli to cheesy mac and cheese looks and sounds great. Gotta try this at home.
Thanks! I try to sneak the healthy stuff into my comfort foods…of course sometimes it works better than others (kale ice cream?! Bluergh!)
Oh yum… I’m going to try this with gluten-free noodles! Wonderful mac’n'cheese…
Sounds like a winning idea Audrey, hope it’s yummy!
Kale and broccoli! I love how you got lots of veggies folded into a mac ‘n cheese dish! Looks fantastic. Stopping by after seeing you are one of Donna’s nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award (me too
)
Kale and Broccoli! Love how you got those veggies in a mac ‘n cheese dish. It looks great!
Stopping by after seeing you were one of Donna’s nominations for the Versatile Blogger award (me too
). I’ll be swing by again. Great blog!
Yum! This looks so good!
Swinging by after seeing you are one of Donna’s nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award (me too!). I’ll be coming by again. Great blog
Hi Sandra, I’m so sorry it’s taken me AN AGE to reply to you…for some reason your comment got swallowed up by my spam machine (stupid spam machine..grumble,grumble).
Thanks for checking out the blog, and congrats on being a fellow nominee! I shall be checking in on you too..but not in a stalkerish way
I’m learning that spam has been loving me lately
!! Errr, that’s why you see do many comments, pffft!
Love the humor, love the love of cheese, love the look and sound of this recipe! Glad to find you and looking forward to more.
Hello R&R! (love the name btw). Happy to have you with us – especially if you are a fellow cheese devotee
I just know I’m going to love your blog if your profile pic is anything to go by. Isn’t food awesome?!
Haha! Food is SO awesome. I wish I could marry it. In the meantime, Food and I co-habit happily. See you and your “belly” again soon!
This looks AMAZING! I do love me some kale, and this gives me yet another way to use it. Props for the deliciousness! =D
Thank you! I shall accept your props and try to live up to them
I almost liked this post and then I saw that you were contemplating whether cheese is better than cake?! Have you lost your mind missy! …I’m kidding, I liked your post anyhow! Anyone who incorporates veg into every meal is high up in my books =)
I have quite possibly lost my mind, you are right. I take it back (hope the cake Gods forgive me)
Haha! I sincerely hope so, no one wants to see their fellow blogger friend being banished from Cake Haven ; )
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