Baby Food: Mac & Cheese

The other day, I made the big girls Mac and cheese. Good ol' Kraft-artificially flavored and colored; creamy and delicious!

I threw a couple noodles on Ivy's tray, she gobbled 'em up! I wasn't thrilled about giving her all that "crap" so young, (the big girls are at the point of no return, they want the stuff in the blue box)...so I decided to throw together a batch of homemade m & c for the little one!

It was sooo easy! I whipped it up while Ivy noshed on Cheerios, and the tv raised my bigs.

I had a handful of orzo left, but you could use any small pasta-acini de pepe, anellini, or stelline.

I decided to add some cauliflower, I had a ginormous bag from Costco that needed to be used. Sneaking veggies into dishes is always fun, it's a small victory watching my family devour chocolate muffins laced with zucchini. 

I threw my pasta in and cooked it past al denté (my toothless wonder needs it super soft). I added the cauliflower florets to the boiling water as well, it's okay to let them get mushy.

While that was going, I made my roux.

Melt the butter, add flour, stir til bubbly, slowly add milk-whisk! whisk! whisk!

Next, I added my shredded Colby Jack cheese-marble jack, cheddar, or white cheddar will work. I'd recommend staying mild, babies have sensitive pallets and tummies.

I Drained my pasta/florets, poured my sauce in the pot, stirred it all up. You can serve it fresh, or freeze it.

We use covered ice cube trays to freeze baby food. I spooned the cheesy goodness into the trays, this small batch filled one tray. 

Like most creamy pasta dishes, it gets a little thick when reheated. No biggie! I just added a splash of formula to "loosen" up the sauce. 

Here's the recipe, hope your little one enjoys it as much as Ivy did!

Baby Mac & Cheese

1/2 cup orzo or small pasta

4-5 cauliflower florets

1 Tbs unsalted butter

1 Tbs flour

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Boil water, add pasta and florets.

While that cooks, make your roux:

Melt butter (over medium heat) in a skillet, whisk in flour, cook until bubbly 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk, the sauce should thicken, add more milk if too thick. Stir in cheese, stir until melted and combined.

Drain pasta/florets. Put back in pot, pour sauce over pasta. Stir until combined. Serve or freeze!