A One-Pot Kid Friendly Recipe: Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Sausage and Spinach

I am very proud of this dish. A friend was coming over with her kids and the initial plan was to order pizza and a salad and have some wine while the kids enjoy playing outside. I decided not to order in since kids eat pizza all the time- but the question was- what can I cook that would be appropriate for the kids as well as the adults??? My daughter is always asking me to make macaroni and cheese- the one from the box- and I do make it for her, I buy the healthy kind but it is still processed and that really bothers me. I try to make mac n cheese from scratch but am trying to get her out of out of the habit and don’t end up making it very often. I thought this would be a good opportunity to make it for her since her friends were coming over. I wanted to make a one-pot meal and didnt’ want to worry about serving vegetables on the side. I decided to make the regular cheese sauce for the dish and used the elbow pasta to make it look like the authentic macaroni and cheese. I chopped up chicken sausage and sauteed it with garlic and the frozen spinach. I then added the cooked pasta and poured the sauce and baked it. I made a salad for us grown ups as well as some garlic bread. Initially the kids were not happy to see the baked dish with the green stuff in it- but once they tasted it- I didn’t hear a peep. I think when they heard chocolate cupcakes were coming up next, they finished the pasta really quick- but seriously- they liked it!
My friend and I enjoyed the pasta and the salad with a great bottle of a Malbec Rose. We finished the entire bottle- well almost- I saved a few sips for my husband.
Overall I was very happy with the dish- everyone is searching for recipes of one-pot meals that are kid friendly as well as good for the adults. I will definitely making this one again- who knows maybe I will change it around a bit to get another new recipe!!

Sia and her friends enjoying the pasta in the backyard….

Cheese Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces cheddar, mozzarella and Monterey Jack mix, shredded
• ½ pound elbow macaroni, cooked
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 4 links chicken sausage, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Stir in milk and salt. Simmer for ten minutes till the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese and keep aside. You will need about half of this sauce for the dish. The rest can be frozen or refrigerated.

In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the sausage. Brown on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for another 4-5 minutes till heated through. Add the cooked pasta and half of the cheese sauce. Mix well and check for seasonings. Place the pasta mixture into an oven-proof dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I used the other half of the cheese sauce and mixed it with 2 cups of cooked elbows. I added one beaten egg mixed with salt and a teaspoon of half and half. I mixed everything together and poured it into an oven proof dish. I took 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and cooked them with 1 teaspoon of butter until the butter melted and mixed into the breadcrumbs. I then sprinkled the buttered breadcrumbs on top of the pasta and baked it for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. My daughter loved it!!!