[Liddle4]

I made my son (7 newly diagnosed) mac and cheese. He loves it but want to make sure all ingriedents are gluten free:
1/2 pkg gluten-free noodles
1/2 stick butter
small velvetta cheese block
milk
Today I may add some shredded Zuchinni to hide in some green vegetable.

[psawyer]

If I recall correctly, Velveeta is gluten-free, but since it is a Kraft product, any gluten will be clearly disclosed in the ingredients. Milk and butter are inherently gluten-free.

[hannahp57]

Those ingredients should all be safe. i think you're good!

i made mac and cheese yesterday... i decided to brown hamburger and add that to make a hambuerger heper type meal (only healthier and gluten free!). it turned out okay but the sauce that i thought was going to be too cheesy seemed to disappear once the meat was stirred in. the dish had very little taste. i need to 1.) season the meat next time-i spaced this time haha and 2.) figure out if the sauce should be increased or made in a different way than for regular mac and cheese when meat is added.
any thoughts, ideas, hints from anyone would be great!

[nasalady]

hannahp57, on Aug 10 2009, 11:07 AM, said:

Those ingredients should all be safe. i think you're good!

i made mac and cheese yesterday... i decided to brown hamburger and add that to make a hambuerger heper type meal (only healthier and gluten free!). it turned out okay but the sauce that i thought was going to be too cheesy seemed to disappear once the meat was stirred in. the dish had very little taste. i need to 1.) season the meat next time-i spaced this time haha and 2.) figure out if the sauce should be increased or made in a different way than for regular mac and cheese when meat is added.
any thoughts, ideas, hints from anyone would be great!

Here is a really decadent comfort-food type recipe from my Gluten Free Recipe Archive blogsite. It's my take on a macaroni and cheese casserole with meat and a veggie added (in this example I have chicken and broccoli, but I also do tuna or salmon and green peas, or hamburger and broccoli, or whatever). The possible variations are endless....you can use different cheeses, etc., according to what you and your family like.

5-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Casserole with Chicken and Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 C cooked chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 C steamed broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 T butter
3-4 T sweet rice flour
2 C heavy cream or half-and-half
2 C chicken broth
2 tsp salt, plus more for water
1/4 tsp ground dry mustard
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 T onion flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 C grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1 C grated medium cheddar
1 C grated monterey jack
1 C grated Jarlsberg
1/2 C grated Parmesan
1 pound gluten free elbow macaroni (or whatever gluten free pasta you prefer)

NOTE: cheese amounts are approximate....you can use more or less cheese according to taste and just how decadent you want this dish to be! I tend to use more....

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 3-quart casserole dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the sweet rice flour. Cook, stirring (best to use a wire whisk), for about 1 minute. While whisking, slowly pour in the cream a little at a time to keep mixture smooth, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Continue cooking, and add the chicken broth a little at time while whisking constantly, until the mixture has the thickness and consistency of paint. You don't want it to be too thick, because it will thicken when you add the cheese. Note: you may not need to add all of the broth to reach the right consistency.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, dry mustard, black pepper, garlic powder, onion flakes, all of the Parmesan and MOST of the other cheeses (reserve a little of the grated cheddars and Jarlsberg to sprinkle on top); set the cheese sauce aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the macaroni until al dente (i.e., until the outside of the pasta is cooked and the inside is slightly underdone), about 7-8 minutes for most gluten free pastas, but it varies. Drain the macaroni in a colander and return to the empty pot. Add the chicken, broccoli and cheese sauce to the macaroni; mix well but gently.

Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheddar cheese over the top. Bake until top is starting to turn golden brown in spots, about 20 - 25 minutes.

[hannahp57]

thanks! looks like meats absorb the sauce so you have to make more of it. that sounds really good (and a good way to sneak veggies in on my hubby- )

[AJSmom]

Liddle4, on Aug 10 2009, 12:29 PM, said:

I made my son (7 newly diagnosed) mac and cheese. He loves it but want to make sure all ingriedents are gluten free:
1/2 pkg gluten-free noodles
1/2 stick butter
small velvetta cheese block
milk
Today I may add some shredded Zuchinni to hide in some green vegetable.

Yummy! Sounds good. I will try this with my 3 1/2 year old. Mac and cheese is something he's really missing.

I also like the ideas of "hiding" veggies...he does not likes any veggies.

[GottaSki]

Steamed cauliflower is another add-in to mac-n-cheese...in fact it is the only cauliflower my kids eat regularly.

[Rothane]

GottaSki, on Oct 19 2009, 02:54 PM, said:

Steamed cauliflower is another add-in to mac-n-cheese...in fact it is the only cauliflower my kids eat regularly.

That's the cornerstone of this recipe. It's easy to convert to gluten-free -- just use gluten-free elbows and breadcrumbs (which are optional anyway). Best mac n' cheese recipe I know.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/bro...8063/index.html

[Wolicki]

I add a box of defrosted frozen butternut squash to macnchz. Kids love it, and the orange blends right in to the cheese, so they never know!

[Rothane]

Wolicki, on Oct 20 2009, 09:44 AM, said:

I add a box of defrosted frozen butternut squash to macnchz. Kids love it, and the orange blends right in to the cheese, so they never know!

Ooh, I love butternut squash. I might try subbing that for the cauliflower next time.

[rbeccatexas]

If you're in a time crunch Amy's makes an awesome frozen gluten free rice mac and cheese.

[AJSmom]

I've made this twice and he loves it!!! Thank you for adding to my list of food he'll eat.

I also found some duck pasta that is very cute...it make this so fun.

[celiac-mommy]

I make this recipe, super easy and my kids love it--

Cook 8oz pkg noodles
Drain noodles, in pot add:
1 can evaporated milk
16oz pkg shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups of shredded (squeeze out all the water) zucchini or 1pkg (thawed) pureed squash, or 2c pureed cauliflower
stir till cheese is melted, add noodles, lightly toss to cover noodles with sauce
bake 350 till top is gold brown--or in my dd's case, almost burnt

If you have a vita-mix blender, you can make the cheese sauce in that while the noodles are cooking. Process on high for a few minutes until the cheese is melted, then add to the drained noodles