Cheesy Goodness

As if I have to say it more, there’s so many things you can do with cheese. With kids it seems the perfect way to solve the “I don’t like this” is throw cheese on it. Any cheese really does the trick, a hot dog, chili (who doesn’t eat chili with cheese? jeez!) Spaghetti, a sandwich, eggs, simple buttered bread, heck I throw extra cheese on a cheesy dish and they beam an incredible smile. Broccoli, asparagus, chicken, beef (yeah, don’t  get me started) and the ever ending kinds of pasta. Really, my kids would eat anything with cheese on it.
    Though I cater to my kids most the time, I really do like to enjoy a meal that isn’t smiling up at me, or made into a fun shape. Sometimes I’d just like to enjoy a meal that isn’t all about the kids. I’m so selfish that way!
   In all seriousness though, I really do go out of my way to make sure the meals will be kid friendly, but at the same time it needs to adult friendly as well.
 This recipe, is perfect for that. Coming from the “5 Ingredient Fix, Easy, Elegant, and Irresistible Recipes” cookbook by Claire Robinson. It’s called Cheesy Penne. Now the day I was going to make this I didn’t notice there wasn’t any Penne in the cupboard, so I instead used some elbow pasta. It came out creamy, rich and silky. A wonderful, and very tasty dish that I can honestly say adults would love just as much as the kids.

Cheesy Penne

Ingredients:

salt for the pot
1 pound fresh or dried penne pasta
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces aged English white Cheddar cheese, grated
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions. Bring a large saucepan of salt water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta” cook until al dente, according to package instructions and drain. Return the pasta to the saucepan.

Whisk the milk with the Dijon mustard in a small bowl and add the pot with cooked pasta, along with the cream and grated Cheddar. Stir over med-low heat until the cheese melts and the mixture is nice and thick. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

For the kids I tossed in some cooked ham, I enjoyed mine with a left over piece of chicken.