Kids Meal Ideas: Macaroni

Looking for a quick dish that your children will love? Try these 2 macaroni meals.

MAC AND CHEESE
I haven't really tried cooking Mac and Cheese before. The biggest reason is because cheese here in Malaysia is really expensive. But I wanted to do something simple that the kids would love and so, I came up with this version of Mac and Cheese.


Ingredients:

• Macaroni pasta
• Cheddar cheese (You could add a mixture of different cheese if you want. I wish I had some Mozarrella as well. Just love the stretchy, chewiness of it)
• Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme). You can buy a small bottle of it at the store. It's all mixed together already. Just open the cap and shake-shake onto the dish.
• Butter
• Milk
• Campbell's cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom)
• Campbell's cheese and herbs spaghetti sauce

How to cook?

1. Cook the macaroni in boiling water until al dente -- meaning don't cook it too long until it's too soft. Also, don't under-cook it. When you bite into it, it still has some firmness. So don't boil it in the pot and run away. After about 10 minutes, just scoop one out and try it. When you've got it at the texture you want, remove the macaroni from the boiling water and set aside.
2. Start working on the sauce. Melt butter and then add some milk. If it's too fatty to your liking, you probably can skip the butter and milk.
   
3. Add in the cheese and herbs spaghetti sauce.
4. Add in the cream of chicken. If you use 1 whole can, fill up the same can with water and add to the sauce. Whatever amount of cream of chicken you use, add that same amount of water.
5. Sprinkle in some Italian seasoning
   
6. Put your macaroni in whatever baking pan or dish and pour the sauce over it.
7. Top it off with cheese.
8. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celcius or until cheese melts and a little brown on top.

Okay, I didn't list down any measurements because I didn't follow any measurements myself. Heheheh. BUT, this much I can tell you. The bag of macaroni pasta I bought was 500g. I cooked half of that packet. I used 1 can of the cheese and herb spaghetti sauce and 1 can of cream of chicken soup. I felt the pasta was a little salty but the kids and DH said it was ok. Anyway, I think I should have just used 1/2 the cans.
Also, I felt it was too plain. Next time I think I'll try adding some chicken meat or mushrooms. Maybe you could sneak in some veges like broccoli in there too. Anyway, experiment and enjoy.

MACARONI ASIAN STYLE
Okay, this recipe I copied from a church friend. Sorry I didn't take a picture of it before it was all eaten up. It's got a little bit of sweet and sour taste to it.

Ingredients:

• Macaroni
• Sausages. Americans prefer to call them hotdogs. Slice it.
  
• Garlic (2-3 pips all chopped up to small pieces)
• Plum sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Chili sauce (this is not available in the US. Maybe you can substitute with ketchup instead)

How to cook?

1. Boil the macaroni until al-dente then put aside.
   
2. With a little bit of cooking oil (or butter), fry the garlic.
3. Throw in your sliced sausages. Stir fry until they become nicely cooked.
   
4. Add in macaroni pasta.
5. Pour in your oyster sauce, plum sauce and chili sauce. Oyster sauce and chili sauce not that much. Plum sauce you'll have to add quite a fair amount. Just keep tasting as you cook. Stop adding the plum sauce when you're satisfied. Well, at least that's what I did. Heheheh.

Both these macaroni dishes were given the thumbs up by my kids. So, if you've run out of kids meal ideas, I hope this post has helped.

p.s. Recommended e-book on nutritious recipes for kids

YUMMY HEALTHY TUMMY
The Secrets of Raising Healthy Kids Every Parent Should Know

• For parents who want to prepare nutritious meals for their children
• For parents who want their children to choose healthy foods always
• For parents having trouble getting their children to eat the right kinds of foods
  

Click here to discover how you can create healthy meals your kids will love!