The other day, child number 1 asked (pleaded?) for some of that stuff that comes in a box - you know, with the big smiling hand? Now I just don't do boxes as a general rule, so I told her that we'd come up with something. Knowing basically what I wanted to do, I searched for recipes to see what others in my situation had done. I found some awesome sounding recipes that just didn't measure up to her expectations (I plan to try a few of them later, when she's not watching). Most of those involved some sort of spice or tomatoes, both of which are generally not in her diet. Several recipes went something like this: 1 pound ground beef, 1 box cheeseburger macaroni mix . . . wait, really? You call that a recipe?
Here's what we came up with, and believe it or not, it ended up smelling and tasting very much like the end product of that boxed mix - exactly what she was looking for.
1 pound ground beef
Garlic powder to taste
1 tablespoon dried minced onion (or use the real thing)
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
and (yeah, I know)
1 box mac and cheese - prepared according to package instructions
Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the beef as it browns. Rehydrate the onions with very hot water and dump them in with the beef. Stir and break up the chunks. When the beef is cooked through, stir it into the prepared mac & cheese. Over low heat, stir in the milk and shredded cheese. When the cheese is melted, the dish is ready. Add more cheese if your dish is not sufficiently cheesy. Serve it up with something green and enjoy!
Now, how did I end up with a kid that LOVES that smiling hand stuff? Maybe it's because I never buy it . . .
