Mac and Cheese - Los Angeles,CA

Google Trisha Yearwood's crock pot mac n cheese from the Food Network. It is AWESOME, made in the crockpot, and super simple. I get tons of compliments on it.

Mac and cheese so easy my 4 year old makes it. One box cooked elbow macaroni. 1/2 stick butter. 1/2 cup milk. Teaspoon each salt white pepper and garlic powder, 2 teaspoons corn startch and a block of shredded cheese. Stir spices and startch into milk. Add it, cheese and butter to still warm noodles. Et voila quick cheap easy uncomplicated Mac and cheese

Annie's brand organic mac and cheese. Yes, it's in a box. Yep, it uses a powder. But it's better for her than the chemically laden versions and frankly -- this is preschool lunch and just doesn't warrant labor-intensive and expensive cooking. Save the homemade mac for meals at home. Add a sprinkle of grated cheese IF you already have it around, or add some butter or other healthier spread to the Annie's mac if you like. It's fine.

And as someone else noted, send other stuff. She will be so busy and interested in school that she actually might not eat a lot at school, and won't care that it's not her beloved labor-intensive homemade mac every time--unless she gets used to having the same lunch every time and gets so into that groove that she won't eat other things. Don't let it happen. Send whatever works for you and whatever she'll eat. Mix it up. It can be "snacky" food if it's healthy; it does not have to be a hot meal. Crackers and cheese, plus whatever fruit she will eat (that keeps well in a lunch box), cut cucumbers or carrots if she eats those, a boiled egg if she eats those. Easy proteins.

You live in LA and can't find Gruyere?

I would suggest that you may be over-thinking this. Kids are usually pretty happy with things like a little Bento box containing crackers, cheese, grapes, a boiled egg... whatever little snacks she likes at home, just put them all in a Bento box and call it good. It's a well-rounded meal, and whatever she doesn't eat at school, she can have for a snack when she comes home.

Or, if she likes sandwiches, give her one of those, plus some apple slices or a couple of strawberries.

School lunch does not need to be something you slave for hours over every morning, it really doesn't! Keep it simple and save your sanity.

You're looking at this all wrong. When I make my Mac and cheese, I get tons of lunches out of it. Use your food processor for the cheese, and you should be able to get a tray in the oven within 30 minutes. Then, freeze lunch size portions.

My recipe uses the good cheese, and it makes about 10 lunches for three kids. It's cheap!

Here's my version of mac and cheese:

Boil some kind of noodles - 10 mins.
Grate some cheddar cheese - 2 mins.
Put some butter on noodles and stir - 30 secs.
Stir in grated cheese - 1 min.
Sprinkle salt - 5 seconds.

Dry mustard, worcestershire, minced onions?? That's fancy, in my book. I don't like to cook, for anyone, but I would never bother with the complicated recipes suggested below just for kids, although I'm sure those recipes are delicious.

gogurt
string cheese
lunch meat rolled in a tortilla cut into smaller sizes
cheese and crackers
apples peeled and sliced squirt a tiny drop of lemon juice and they won't brown
carrot sticks
applesauce
pbj
lunchables
skip the hot cooked stuff. most of the kids will be eating the things I mentioned above.
don't do the whole big cooking thing. she will eat what she will eat and then will eat a good dinner at home.

I don't measure, but here's an approximation of how I make it - which has easy, on-hand ingredients.

- a handful (~3/4 C) mild cheddar cheese
- a scoop (~2 T) cream cheese
- a smaller scoop (~1 T) sour cream
- a slice of velveeta (optional, but it melts better than the cheddar, and helps the consistency)
- add milk to the desired consistency (a few tablespoons)

I melt it in the microwave about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, and then pour it over the macaroni.
It's the sour cream and cream cheese that make it creamy.
This is enough to make about 2 servings (it's how much I make for a lunch for me and 1 kid)

My go-to pack lunch is tacos. I make a big batch of meat, freeze it in ice cube trays (really!) for a few hours, then put the cubes of meat into a ziplock. For lunch, I thaw 2 cubes of meat and put them in a hot thermos. Then back a small ziplock of shredded cheese and 2 soft taco shells. It's my kid's favorite lunch.

I made a chart for my kids and they go by that. 1 protein, 1-2 fruits/veggies, 1 chips/popcorn/crackers (optional), 1-2 drinks (bottle of water and a juice box), 1 dessert (optional).

They take leftovers sometimes in a thermos, which keeps food hot for up to 9 hours or cold up to 6 I believe. Maybe I have that backwards though.

We prepackage things ourselves and buy some that way, so even in kindergarten they could pack their own lunches - they like doing it themselves.

Mac and Cheese though probably won't be yummy hours later, even in a thermos. Some things just don't stay warm well for long. So I'd look in to other options she likes. Or worst case, you could always bring her lunch right before lunch starts. We do that sometimes for our kids, even when we were both working full-time.

I wouldn't send mac & cheese. It will likely get gelatinous and yucky by the time lunch comes around. I tried to send leftover ziti with my daughter a couple times (her request) and she went hungry because it just doesn't work well even in a thermos.

I know you didn't ask for any other ideas, but around that age, both my kiddos likes snack-type lunches. You can use a bento box or other divided lunch box and put in any combo of hummus, cheese, sliced meat, peanut butter or other nut butters, cut up veggies, cut up fruit, dried fruit, granola, whole grain crackers, yogurt, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), nuts, whole wheat tortillas, sweet potato chips, and anything else that your daughter eats often. Most kiddos like the variety and simple, uncombined foods.

ETA: My kitchen aid food processor grates cheese really well. I love it for so many reasons, but grating a gallon bag of cheese in 2 minutes is pretty awesome.

Why not feed her something besides mac n cheese and then you don't have to worry about it.

Peanut butter cups and pretzels to dip it would be adequate for that age/size child, or apple slices to dip. A container of yogurt. A PB&J sandwich. Carrots and celery. Grapes.

What do you feed her at home... surely not mac and cheese every day. Just send her with a variation of what she gets at home. Chicken breast (cut up into a few strips) and some cucumber slices. Applesauce. What is normal for her to eat at lunch?

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-favorite-baked-mac-and-...

Original recipe makes 6 servings Change Servings

2 tablespoons butter

Here's an easy one that we like. I don't usually put in onion or dry mustard though.

1/4 cup finely chopped onion


2 tablespoons all-purpose flour


2 cups milk


3/4 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon dry mustard


1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni


2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


1 (8 ounce) package processed American cheese, cut into strips

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, salt, mustard and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture boils and thickens.
3.Meanwhile, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
4.To the milk mixture add the Cheddar and American cheeses; stir until cheese melts. Combine macaroni and cheese sauce in a 2 quart baking dish; mix well.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Oh yeah, this is the time to start avoiding that 'slave to the lunch' thing.

I like offering a variety. Small yogurt cup or applesauce, string cheese or cut up cheese cubes. Handful of almonds or nuts if the school allows. Sunflower butter and jelly sandwich is a great choice if nuts aren't allowed. Cheese quesadillas, even cold, were a big hit with my preschoolers. Some fresh, cut up fruit in a container. Hummus and some pita or carrots/red pepper strips to dip into it. Whole grain crackers and salami were a hit with other kids.

If you are determined to use pasta, just as simple pasta (like fusilli or penne) with olive oil and grated Parmesan will be fine and keep okay.

I'll also say that it's wise to have a good, nutritious snack ready at pickup time, even if it's right before dinner. Nuts and whole grain crackers-- something you can keep in the car which she can eat immediately. Some kids tend to do a lot of socializing and not eat very much for the amount of time given. I scheduled about 30 minutes for lunch for my preschoolers and we often went long.

Ultimately, if you are buying one box of mac and cheese and stretching it out over three meals once a week, it's not a big deal. I'd be more worried about setting yourself up to be catering to a pickier eater (I have one, I know!) than the nutrition of just 3 out of 21+ meals a week.

I just make a white sauce and buy grated cheddar and melt into it.

My husband makes the best mac-n-cheese. Boil elbow noodles until done, add Velveeta cheese (block kind), one-two slices of American cheese, a dash of milk to combat dryness, and mix. I add a sprinkle of paprika for a little something extra, but that's optional.

Alton Brown of the Food Network has a pretty simple mac-and-cheese recipe that tastes close to the "blue box" stuff but has none of the things we want to avoid (like whatever is in that neon yellow powder). I'd omit the hot sauce for such a young child like yours, however. My daughter loves this recipe and even though she's not a child, she prefers it without the hot sauce.

When I've made this, I just use 2 heaping cups of shredded cheese. Cheddar seems to come in 8 ounce blocks, and I don't bother measuring too precisely. I just shred a bunch of cheddar and scoop out 2 heaping measuring cupfuls. It's a delicious recipe and pretty quick to make.

And it reheats much better than the boxed stuff.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/stove-top-...

i think it's fine to send mac and cheese if she likes it. it'll be gross by lunchtime, but kids are kinda gross a lot of the time.
i just don't understand stressing over a preschool lunch. i'd make big batches of the mac and cheese you like (why is gruyere hard to find????) and freeze portions. and send other stuff when you don't.
there are things worth stressing over. this isn't one of 'em.
khairete
S.

Mac and Cheese

1 & 1/2 Cup macaroni (elbows)
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 Cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon Worcester
3 Cups milk
1 teaspoon instant minced onion
3 Cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (or mild, depending on preference)

Cook macaroni and set aside. Melt 4 T butter. Blend in Flour and seasonings (make a roux). Add milk and onion. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add cheese until melted and smooth. Mix with macaroni. Put in 2.5 Quart casserole. Bake 375˚ about 40 min.

I layer cooked elbows and grated sharp cheese in a buttered casserole dish.
If I want to get fancy? I brown Ritz cracker crumbs and put on the top.
You can buy shredded cheese, you know.
Make a lot and she can take it ever day.

You might want to google mac & cheese, particularly crock pot mac & cheese. If you have a food processor with a grater disk, it takes 2 seconds to grate up a block of cheddar cheese. The crock pot takes a lot of the labor out of it. I can't imagine that 6 cups of cheese is the amount you want to use - that's a ton of product and you'll never be able to eat it all, so definitely cut the recipe down. Here's just one recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/crockp...

The other thing with toddlers is to send them with more than one thing! If they get to school with the mac and cheese and then change their minds because they aren't in the mood or the next kid has something more interesting, you're stuck with a whiny kid who won't eat. With an assortment, they can pick and choose. Get a sectioned lunch box container - ziploc makes some - and while the teacher may have to take the lid off for your child, there will then be a sectioned plate with a variety of foods. Put in some cheese cubes vs. hot mac & cheese, some yogurt, a few halved grapes or cubes of melon, a small "dip" of hummus, and some raw veggies like carrot sticks or pepper strips. If they allow peanuts, put in a half PB&J sandwich, cut in half again. She'll have choices but not 2 dozen of them which is overwhelming, and anything she eats is healthy. Have the teacher put the lid back on and send the container home, so you'll know what she ate and what she didn't.

You can always serve the mac and cheese at home!

Jessica Seinfeld did 2 cookbooks a few years back with kid-friendly meals with hidden nutrition. You might check those out of the library. There is some prep on the weekend but then a heavy use of the freezer. Might be worth a look.

I'm confused, does she ONLY eat mac and cheese? Can't you pack her whatever else she eats? Even picky kids usually have a fair selection of foods they like, I assume she eats other things...carrot sticks, apple slices, cheese and crackers, grapes, cereal, yogurt, PB&J, soup, slice of pizza or quesadilla, really almost anything she eats for breakfast, lunch or dinner can be packed to go.
Mac and cheese is actually one of the few items I wouldn't pack for lunch because it's really best served hot and fresh. Most other pasta dishes (red sauce, pesto, alfredo) hold up well in a thermos warm or at room temp, does she like any of those? Maybe just buttered noodles?

Can you make up a big batch on a weekend and then freeze individual lunch size portions for her to take to school?
Kraft Mac n cheese we don't mind (I like it - it's what I grew up with) but you could always cook up a family size Stouffers and re-freeze single serve portions.
I've tried Annie's and didn't care for it - but I know people really love it.

Elliebird

The school doesn't serve lunch - okay - there's more than mac & cheese out there. Are you saying that is the ONLY food she eats?? If so - you have a bigger problem on your hands!!

Why does it HAVE to be Mac & cheese? Why can't it be a tortilla sandwich? Why can't it be a PB&J? Oh heck - I've seen kids bring SUSHI to school! (eww for me personally but I know plenty who love it).

If I remember correctly, there was another mom who asked about Mac & cheese recipes...yep - found it. wow...didn't realize there were so many questions on Mac & cheese!!

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/8843401429474607105

You could always make your recipe and bake and freeze it in single serving sizes. One afternoon of work would provide a dozen or more lunches. For a 2-3 yr old you could even prepare it in a muffin tin using cupcake liners for easy freezing and serving.

I make a white sauce and add extra old "nippy" or sharp cheddar for the best flavour. I usually add some parmesan as well if I have it handy. I often buy my cheddar on sale and freeze it, which makes it ideal for cooking, because after freezing I find I don't need to shred it because it easily crumbles.

You could make mac and cheese for supper and save a left over portion for lunch the next day, or as someone mentioned, make it and freeze in portions.

You must realize she's not going to eat half of what you pack right? They are seeing what everyone else has and they're curious. They run out of time and don't get to finish.

SO only send her a couple of things and small servings too. Like mac and cheese and some fruit or some sort of sandwich and an applesauce.

Those of us who've done Mother's Day Out know how much the kids bring back home every day because they just want to go play or be with their friends or not stop at all to eat.

Annie's Organic store bought mac & cheese--my kids love it.

I'm a SAHM and I don't have time for the kind of fancy mac & cheese you're describing. And, although I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable cook, i wouldn't know Gruyere cheese if it bit me on the nose ;-)