Mac & Cheese

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I so badly want to care enough to make all the cute little heart-shaped foods for my family. In reality, the kids wouldn’t care. Like at all. I could spend hours in the kitchen trying to make the Pinterest-perfect Valentine school lunch, and they would probably be like, “Wow, a heart…” for a brief second and then move on. Actually, they would probably be mostly wowed that I packed a lunch for them at all. That’s their job.

But what would communicate love to most of them (and myself), is a good meal of mac and cheese (or in this case, shells and cheese). Man do I love some mac and cheese. When I moved to Venezuela for a year after college, my mom sent me with a Costco-sized pack of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese boxes. Oh how I treasured them and saved them for those days I really needed the comfort. Truth be told, I still have a weak spot for that terribly processed product. We stopped buying it for years, and somehow I find it in my pantry on occasion. And resist as I may try, I always have a bite. Or a lot of bites. At least they removed the artificial colors!?

These shells and cheese entered our dinner rotation when Kraft exited. At first, I was afraid the kids would reject it. I envisioned chants of, “We want the boxed kind!” But to my amazement, they ate these shells and cheese up. Maybe the different shaped pasta helped them make the transition without a fight? Not sure. And the cheeses are cheeses that we usually have on hand for snacking… sharp cheddar and colby jack. Nothing weird that kids would wrinkle their noses at. I usually use Cabot Seriously Sharp White Cheddar for the cheddar, or a sharp white cheddar from Trader Joe’s. I avoid “yellow”/orange as much as possible since the color is fake.

Though this meal is far from healthy, I love that I can at least fill it with organic whole grain pasta shells and top it with whole wheat bread crumbs. Serve it with a side of roasted broccoli and some apples, and you have a less-processed, kid-friendly meal. Plus adults like it too. I’ve made these shells and cheese for many a potluck, and I never bring any home.

So spare yourself from cutting your apples, carrots, cheese and all the things into heart shapes tomorrow, and just make this for dinner. It’s the perfect, “I love you” imho.