either highly amusing...

...or completely horrifying. The recipe for Mac'n'Cheese I found in a magazing recently read in a waiting room someplace. I asked the staff to make me a copy, so I would not rip the page out of the Good Housekeeping. My kids would be thoroughly horrified that someone would mess up a perfectly good recipe by including a vegetable on the list of ingredients. 

To find it entertaining you have to know a bit of history: as a mom I was forever hoping to feed my family something nutritious. It is probably in the job description, where it says Food Pyramid or Basic Food Groups. The sort of thing you would learn in Home Ec. classes in high school in a previous century. 'Designing a Balanced Meal' according to the pie chart that has a certain percentage devoted to vegetables, a different amount given over to carbs and starchy foods, and a smaller wedge allotted to meat/protein.

My variation on that particular theme was a continual effort to smuggle in vegetables to little people who would go to great lengths to avoid healthy eating. I was forever grating up carrots to sneak into the spaghetti sauce or pot of chili, or adding grated zucchini to the soup. Over time, they learned to be very wary, closely inspecting their food prior to forking it up. Lately it's been more onions and celery added to a wide variety of carbs, things like cous-cous, rice, pasta dishes. Squeezing in the healthy stuff where ever I see a wee little place to insert a vegetable.

Reading the recipe in the Good Housekeeping, I am sure it caused me to laugh out loud when I discovered it actually calls for grated carrots in the ingredients. I thought I was the Only One, and find cooking experts and professional food prep people adding carrots to such a dish highly unlikely. Honestly, you really cannot taste the carrots. You do notice, as they are a completely different shade of orange from the cheddar cheese, but really, truly, does not alter the flavor of the dish.

Carrot-y Macaroni and Cheese
12 oz. elbow pasta (or your choice of shape, I think teeny shells would be good)
3 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup low fat milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 cup Greek yogurt w1/8 tsp. salt

Cook the pasta  as directed, adding carrots to boiling water just before draining. In large sauce pan, heat milk and garlic powder. Slowly stir in cheeses, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, whisk in yogurt and salt. (You may wish to add a bit of hot sauce - but I won't, but I might give it a little prepared mustard). Toss in pasta and carrots. Serves 6. Crazy sounding, but pretty good. Garnish with parsley if desired.

I'm still looking for the perfect mac. and cheese recipe...