Macaroni and Cheese in the blue box is an occasional lunch for my Little Chefs. When we found Robert Irvine’s Bechamel Mac and Cheese Little Chef C knew we HAD to make it! She wanted to make sure it was cheesy enough, but was a little perplexed about using two different cheeses.
There were 3 saucepans on the stove which was amazing and hard for a Little Chef to keep track of what goes in what. Sometimes it is hard for a grown Chef to keep track! She was cooking the pasta in one, the milk that she had to constantly stir was in another, and the butter was melting in the third. I definitely was helping her keep track of what needed to happen in all three!
Little Chef C said, “It was easy to start off, then we had to hurry up because there were so many things to do.” That is exactly right! We were a little tripped up on the roux AGAIN! We read the directions over and over making sure we did exactly as instructed. This is where the potatoes became a disaster! After a while Little Chef C said, “it looks like it is thickening.” Then after another minute, “it really is thickening, it looks like it is all thick it looks done.”
She decided it was done so we added it to the milk…even thought it really was not thick. She finished off the recipe and was excited to let her sisters try it! Little Chef A was very polite and said, “hurry and try it first because I really want to try it.” They all LOVED it. Little Chef A and C were counting how many helpings they were having. (After the initial helping the following helpings are a small fraction of the size! To them it doesn’t matter, it counts no matter how big or small!)
Bechamel Mac and Cheese
Robert Irvine
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup grated Cheddar
- 4 cups cooked macaroni pasta
Directions
Next, in a second saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Stir in the flour. Reduce the heat to low and stir until well incorporated. Remove from the heat when it is a pale tan color (a blond roux).
Once the roux has thickened, slowly stir into the milk mixture to blend. Continue to stir over low heat until well incorporated. Finally, remove from the heat and whisk in the cheeses. Once mixed, add the pasta, again stir well and serve.
Linking to: Lady Behind The Curtain,
23 Replies to "Bechamel Mac and Cheese"
Lisa Fyfe May 2, 2012 (10:01 am)
love that it is so simple. trying this for my son!
The Budget Diet May 2, 2012 (10:06 am)
We a macaroni & cheese loving family, and we'll have to add this one to our repertoire! Your kids might also want to try a super easy (1 pot) version that we created: http://www.TheBudgetDiet.com/quick-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe
RuralMom May 2, 2012 (11:28 am)
How fun! And yummy. We are big mac n cheese fans here, I'm bookmarking to try this recipe!
Susan May 2, 2012 (12:30 pm)
What a sweet blog! Visiting from voiceboks.
I make my own mac and cheese…very similar to this recipe but I use cheddar and cream cheese. Yum.
Keska George Gadson May 2, 2012 (12:40 pm)
Following from VB!
Love this recipe…looks so yummy. There's one thing we love in this house and that's CHEESE so I can agree with the extra cheese.
Five Little Chefs May 2, 2012 (2:03 pm)
The one pot version would be easier for my Little Chef to keep track of that is for sure!
Five Little Chefs May 2, 2012 (2:04 pm)
Thanks for visiting!
Five Little Chefs May 2, 2012 (2:05 pm)
If you can keep track of the three pots yes it is very simple.
Five Little Chefs May 2, 2012 (2:06 pm)
Oooh that sounds like a good combination as well!
Five Little Chefs May 2, 2012 (2:07 pm)
Little Chef C loved watching the cheese strings! That is how you know if there is enough.
Carla Karam May 2, 2012 (5:00 pm)
This looks so yummy. My little girl cooks with me every time I cook. I love it.
Mary Sullivan Frasier May 3, 2012 (2:12 am)
I love it when you can get kids in the kitchen. Looks like your little chefs had a lot of fun making and eating this! I don't know if you tried adding a little more flour, but sometimes (depending on humidity) you'll need a bit more or less flour in a roux. If they keep on practicing, they'll be pro bechemel makers in no time! :~)
Happy Whimsical Hearts May 3, 2012 (7:12 am)
I'm amazed each time I read what your Little Chef's are cooking! Such wonderful skills they are learning!! It is just wonderful. Making white sauce, gravy and custard were my cooking tasks when I was young – I think it was because I was patient and enjoyed stirring? Lol, not too sure really. I let the flour and butter become a thin paste before quickly adding in small amounts of milk at a time (not sure if this info might help??).
Thanks for sharing on Happy lil ❤'s are baking!
Jessica E May 3, 2012 (7:16 am)
What an awesome post and it sounds so yummy! We may have to give this a try. Thanks for the post and recipe.
Stopping by from the Newbie blog hop
Jessica
http://www.arebutterfliesticklish.com/
Five Little Chefs May 3, 2012 (7:41 pm)
I always love to hear of other kids cooking! That is wonderful!
Five Little Chefs May 3, 2012 (7:42 pm)
That is a great suggestion. We will try adding a little more flour next time. We might just try that part of the recipe over and over and not the entire recipe until we have mastered it! We can do it!
Five Little Chefs May 3, 2012 (7:43 pm)
Yes thank you. We are going to try just that part of the recipe until we get it right. At least it still tasted fine!
Devon Riesenberg May 4, 2012 (9:25 am)
Visiting from the May Day Blog Hop!
What a great idea for a blog, I love this! I have a 15 month old and am always looking for toddler recipes 🙂
I have a little food blog too 🙂
Alyssa May 5, 2012 (9:14 pm)
This macaroni and cheese looks really good, I will have to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing at Showcase Your Talent Thursday. I hope to see you there next week!
Five Little Chefs May 6, 2012 (9:52 pm)
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you visit us again!
Five Little Chefs May 6, 2012 (9:53 pm)
Oooh! I am going to check out your blog now! Thanks for visiting!
izzo July 12, 2012 (10:11 pm)
I would make a runnier silkier "besciamella" sauce (italian style) that calls for equal parts flour and butter, then i would bake it. Also, i heard someone say that a "bechamel" sauce becomes a "mornay" sauce once you add cheese to the sauce.
AnickH September 15, 2012 (5:48 am)
I'm agree with izzo. u need to up your flour to at least 3 Tbls so its equal parts flour to butter. I even use slightly more flour than butter. (4 Tablespoons flour with 3 Tablespoons butter.) Heres how I make béchamel: Melt your 3 T butter over med, stirring constantly until melted. remove from heat. Let butter sit for a couple min till no longer foamy at all. stir in flour. put back on heat and keep mixing the butter and flour over med heat for 1-2 min stirring constantly. at that point you can now add your milk and stock (I actually use cream instead of milk and I would only use 1/2 cup.) stir over medium until the béchamel thickens. ((Your better off doing everything on medium heat rather than low heat, BUT never stop stirring, while the sauce (pan) is on heat))