Our family does what it can to add as much nutrition to existing dishes as we can through an approach we like to call Cherry-on-Top. As in our previous Cherry on Top blog posts (see here and here). One of our go-tos, especially during the summer months and the CSA bounty is overflowing, is roasted vegetables. It’s easy to throw spare veggies into any recipe after roasting them. My favorite, but really my kids favorite, to add them to is Mac and Cheese!Â
Yum yum yum!
Here’s my recipe for stove top mac and cheese. Get creative and add any roasted vegetables you’d like!
Here’s what you’ll need for the mac and cheese:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1 pound cheddar cheese, grated
- Salt + pepper to taste
- 1 pound macaroni, cooked
For the roasted veggies, all you need are the spare vegetables in your fridge or whatever you choose from the grocery store. This time I went with: brussels sprouts, broccoli, and red onion.Â
Chop up your vegetables and add them to a baking sheet. Add your preferred oil and spices (for this one, I used avocado oil* and paprika, salt, and pepper). Roast them in the oven at 450°F for 15-20 or until brown and crispy.
Tip: When my veggies are ready, I simply turn off the oven and let them sit until the rest of dinner is ready. While sitting in the cooling oven, they soak up all the oils and spices, and they stay warm! I learned this trick from my mother-in-law. Hi, Barb!
And for the macaroni and cheese itself:
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring or whisking constantly.
- Add the milk and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.
- Off the heat, stir in the cheese, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in the cooked macaroni and roasted vegetables
Get creative! Add in anything you’d like. This is a very cherry-on-top-friendly meal. Other ideas might include:
- Roasted butternut squash and thyme
- Black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and crushed tortilla chips
- Broccoli, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes
- Any veggies left over in your fridge!
What else could you add to a macaroni and cheese dish?
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
