Velveeta who?

I'm a southern girl so this was bound to make it to the blog. Mac and Cheese is a staple for every family gathering. No matter the occasion, there had better be mac and cheese and you'd better not get the corners! (Those are reserved for the uncles.) It is something I made for myself when I was feeling desperately homesick while living in the western mountains. And it has contributed several pounds to my "Brunson Spread." Needless to say I have had a ROYAL craving for it recently ( No I'm not expecting!). However it's August in the south, and I really would like my kitchen to stay as cool as possible. Oh Yeah, and I want it to be healthier, blah, blah, blah....... After calling my mom to make sure i had the basics down for the baking method, I turned to my stove top. What came out was pretty darn tasty, and a good substitute for the baked version. In fact, Little Red (my 3 year old daughter) actually ate it! That's saying something cause unless it's chicken fingers or yogurt, she won't go anywhere near it.

This version may seem a little wierd to you, but trust me it's scrumptious! Now the baked version requires pre-boiling your noodles, but I really don't want to mess up any more dishes than I have to. Soooooo....... How about we use the milk to boil those noodles? Since I use fat free milk, it's mostly water anyways, right? And I'm outta eggs, but we really don't need those either, do we? And Little Red only likes the twirly noodles. Yeah. We can make this work!

Stove-top Mac and Cheese

2c. Whole wheat noodles
2c. fat free milk
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
garlic
1c. grated cheddar
1 slice swiss cheese

*Throw everything except the cheeses into a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer. Don't get too hot too quickly or your milk will curdle.
* Once simmer is reached turn stove down to low and stir at least every 60 seconds to keep noodles from sticking together, for at least 15 minutes.
*If needed add 1/4 cup more milk and continue to simmer and stir an additional 5 minutes or until noodles reach desired tenderness.
* Remove from heat and add cheddar. Stir until evenly distributed. Place slice of swiss on top and cover pan. Leave for 5 minutes.
*Once swiss has melted you can either: 1. use a mini butane burner to brown up the swiss for a "crust" or 2. stir it into the rest of your mac and cheese to give it an extra kick. (should your pan be rated for oven use you can throw it under the broiler to achieve crust-like topping)

The results are astounding and completely relieve all cheeseiness-type cravings!

Healthiness: Since you are using fat free milk, whole wheat pasta, no butter, and very little cheese you are saving yourself gobs of fat and oil you don't need.

Reminder: Don't forget to use organic, and research the places your cheese and animal products come from!