Spinach Mac N Cheese Food

SPINACH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• HEAT OVEN TO 400F/204C. Line 2 quart casserole with parchment paper (for easy cleanup) or spray casserole dish with oil.
• BOIL MACARONI AND SPINACH: Bring salted water to a boil in a large saucepan and add macaroni. Cook as per package directions. 3 minutes before macaroni is cooked, add frozen or fresh chopped spinach. This will slow the boil, so increase heat to medium high to finish cooking pasta to al dente which is what you want. Drain in colander and set aside.
• MAKE CHEESE SAUCE: Heat butter in saucepan on medium heat. Add flour and whisk to blend. Cook for 2 minutes. Add milk. Whisk to blend. Add salt and mustard (if using). Cook for about 5-7 minutes until thickened. Turn off heat. Mix in 2 1/2 cups (~280g) cheese, reserving remaining 1/2 cup (56g) of cheddar for topping.
• COMBINE SAUCE AND MACARONI: Add cooked macaroni and spinach to cheese sauce. Mix to combine well. Transfer to 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese casserole.
• BAKE AND SERVE: Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is golden brown on top. Serve with slaw, baked beans or tomato salad.

CHICKEN AND SPINACH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the elbow macaroni and cook according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, place the chicken skin in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, being careful to keep the skin as flat as possible. Cook, flipping over halfway, for about 2 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the fat has rendered out. Remove the skin from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and wilt for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Remove the spinach from the pan and set aside.
• To the same pan, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and melt over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture is free of any lumps and light tan in color, about 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium, slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly, and cook until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the cheese, whisking to combine, and cook until it is melted and the sauce is smooth. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the chicken stock, lemon juice, yellow mustard and hot sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
• Add the drained pasta, wilted spinach and pulled chicken to the sauce. Stir to combine. Crumble the crispy chicken skin on top and serve immediately.

SPINACH MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium non-stick pan. Add the leeks, stir well, then cover and cook for about 6 mins or until softened.
• Put the flour and mustard powder in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the milk. Pour into the pan with the leeks and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened. Continue stirring over a low heat while the pasta cooks. It will seem thick but will be diluted later.
• Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water, then stir the paste into the sauce. Add the spinach and 1-11/2 ladlefuls of the water to make a spoonable sauce, then stir over the heat until the spinach has wilted. Stir in most of the cheese and taste for seasoning.
• Heat the grill. Tip the pasta mixture into a casserole dish, arrange the tomatoes over the top and scatter over the remaining cheese. Grill for 5-10 mins or until bubbling and golden.

QUICK & CREAMY MACARONI & CHEESE WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook macaroni as directed on package, omitting salt.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add spinach and garlic; cook and stir 3 min. or until spinach is wilted. Spoon into bowl; set aside.
• Heat remaining oil in same saucepan. Whisk in flour; cook and stir 1 min. Gradually whisk in milk; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Add cheeses; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until shredded cheese is melted.
• Drain macaroni. Add to cheese sauce along with the spinach; cook and stir 3 min. or until heated through.

SPINACH MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425.
• In medium sized pot, over medium heat, melt butter.
• Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes.
• Pour in the hot milk and cook until thickened.
• Add the spinach, cheese, seasonings, horseradish and mustard.
• Mix well.
• Combine with the cooked pasta.
• Place in a greased cassarole dish.
• Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until bubbling.

SPINACH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add onion and cook until translucent, 6 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden and has a slightly nutty aroma, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add 2 cups milk. Add remaining 2 cups milk, raise heat to medium-high, and whisk until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until sauce comes to a boil, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Add spinach and cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted, about 2 minutes. Add cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to the package instructions. Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain the macaroni and set aside.
• Wipe out the pot. Add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until it begins to toast, about 2 minutes. (The flour will form a thick paste, but that's okay; just keep it moving in the pot.) Whisk in the milk and the reserved macaroni water and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick like gravy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the Swiss cheese, sour cream, 2/3 cup of the mozzarella and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan. Once the cheeses have melted, add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the artichoke hearts, macaroni, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a broiler-safe 2-quart baking dish.
• Stir together the remaining 1/3 cup mozzarella and 3 tablespoons Parmesan in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the macaroni. Broil until golden and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

SPINACH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon butter.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat while macaroni is cooking. Add flour and whisk until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in a little milk and continue whisking. Pour in remaining milk and add frozen spinach. Cook, whisking constantly, until spinach softens and sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
• Remove sauce from heat and stir in 2 cups Cheddar cheese; whisk until melted. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
• Drain macaroni and spread evenly in the prepared baking dish. Cover with cheese sauce. Mix well. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Turn on the oven's broiler and broil until a golden crust forms on top, about 3 minutes.

LIGHTENED-UP SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Special equipment: a broiler-safe 2-quart baking dish
• Position an oven rack at the center of the oven, and preheat the broiler.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water; strain the pasta.
• Wipe out the pot. Add the butter, and melt over medium heat. Add the shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, and whisk constantly until it begins to toast, about 2 minutes. (The flour will form a thick paste, but that's okay; just keep it moving in the pot.) Whisk in the milk and the reserved pasta water, and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick like gravy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream, 2/3 cup of the mozzarella, the Swiss cheese and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan. Once the cheeses have melted, add the spinach, and cook until just wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the artichoke hearts, pasta, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a broiler-safe 2-quart baking dish.
• Stir together the remaining 1/3 cup mozzarella and 3 tablespoons Parmesan in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the pasta. Broil until golden and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT SPINACH MAC N CHEESE WITH BROILED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler to high.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the shells and cook according to package directions. Drain, reserving some of the pasta water and set aside.
• Meanwhile, arrange the tomatoes, cut-side up, on baking sheet and broil until wrinkled and soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Combine the breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of the oil and the Italian seasoning. Sprinkle over the tomatoes. Continue to broil until golden brown, about 1 minute.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and garlic, stirring until the flour turns light brown, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree and evaporated milk, bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook until sauce just begins to bubble and thickens, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the Cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Stir until melted, about 1 minute.
• Add the spinach and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and stir until coated, thin out with the reserved pasta water as desired. Divide the mac n cheese, tomatoes and grapes among four plates.

LIGHT MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400F.
• Spray 8" square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• In small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the milk and flour until smooth.
• In heavy medium saucepan, heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk over medium heat until steaming.
• Add flour mixture; cook 2-3 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, whisking constantly.
• Remove from heat; stir in cheddar cheese until melted.
• Stir in cottage cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
• Rinse under cold running water; squeeze out excess moisture.
• Cook macaroni in large pot of boiling lightly salted water 4-5 minutes or until not quite tender, stirring often.
• (Macaroni will continue to cook while baking.) Drain; rinse with cold water.
• Drain again.
• In large bowl, stir together cheese sauce and macaroni.
• Spread half of the macaroni mixture in baking dish; spoon spinach over top.
• Spread remaining macaroni mixture over spinach layer; sprinkle with wheat germ.
• (Dish can be made to this point and refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator before baking.) Bake 35-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
• TIP*If you can't find wheat germ, substitute an equal amount of Parmesan cheese, cracker crumbs or bread crumbs.
• VARIATION: To make Southwestern Macaroni and Cheese with Peppers, substitute 1 cup grated pepper Jack cheese for 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.
• Omit the nutmeg.
• Add 1 (4 1/2-oz.) can chopped mild green chiles, 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro and dash cayenne pepper to cheese sauce.
• Omit spinach.
• Instead, cook 2 cups thawed frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables in 1 teaspoon olive oil 3 to 4 minutes or until tender.
• Replace spinach with pepper mixture.

SPINACH-MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add spinach; cook 1 to 2 min. or just until wilted. Drain. Use same pan to cook macaroni as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, melt margarine in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onions; cook 5 min., stirring frequently. Add garlic and flour; cook and stir 1 min. Whisk in milk; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add 2-1/4 cups cheese; cook and stir until melted. Stir in pepper and nutmeg.
• Squeeze excess water from spinach; chop finely. Drain macaroni. Add to cheese sauce; stir until evenly coated. Spoon half the macaroni mixture into 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with spinach. Top with remaining macaroni mixture and shredded cheese.
• Bake 30 min. or until golden brown. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

SPINACH-BACON MAC & CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt and adding spinach to the boiling water for the last minute.
• Meanwhile, cook and stir bacon in large saucepan until crisp. Use slotted spoon to remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Add flour to drippings; cook and stir 1 min. or until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened.
• Add 1 cup cheddar and Parmesan to saucepan; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until melted. Add pasta mixture and bacon; mix well.
• Spoon into 1-1/2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cheddar. Bake 20 min. or until heated through.