Perfect summer dinner~ mac and cheese with green bean tomato salad 10

 in Main course / Side dish by

This recipe was created because we had the most delicious organic green beans and cherry tomatoes, and we needed to come up with something to go with it.  This salad is very easy to put together and it really tastes like summer to me.  Mac and cheese is a family favorite. We always try to change up the recipe a bit, so this time we made an herb bread crumb topping and added shallots to our cheese sauce. When there are no leftovers, you know if was a good dinner.

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Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

  • 2 shallots(save a little bit for the green beans)
  • small bunch of thyme
  • small bunch of parsley
  • 1T EVOO
  • 8 oz of your favorite dry pasta(I like elbows for mac and cheese)
  • 2 cans of evaporated skim milk
  • 12 oz of your favorite shredded cheese(I prefer cheddar, mozzerella or parmesan)
  • 1T of butter
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Cook your pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta well. Saute your shallots in a little bit of EVOO. After about 3-5 min. pour in both cans of evaporated milk. Once the mixture begins to simmer, lower your heat and slowly whisk in all the cheese. Stir in a little thyme and parsley. The sauce should be fairly thick by the end. Add your cooked pasta into the cheese sauce and stir well. Add salt and pepper to your liking and taste the mixture to make sure the flavors are good. Put the mac and cheese in a prepared pan. While your pasta and cheese sauce are cooking, prepare your bread crumb topping by melting one Tablespoon of butter in a bowl. Add to the butter the panko bread crumbs, a little salt and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping onto your mac and cheese and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
http://cookwith5kids.com/2015/07/perfect-summer-dinner-mac-and-cheese-with-green-bean-tomato-salad/

Green Bean and Tomato Salad

1 large bunch of green beans(about one cup)

1 small box of cherry tomatoes

1T EVOO

3T rice wine vinegar

3T minced shallots

thyme and parsley

salt and pepper

In a shallow pan heat up some water to boiling.  Add in some salt.  Blanche your green beans for about 5 minutes.  Take off the heat and quickly rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Put dry beans into a bowl with some halved cherry tomatoes.  Drizzle on a little EVOO.  Stir in some minced shallots, some thyme, some parsley and some pepper and salt.  Finally, pour on your rice wine vinegar.  Stir well and enjoy a delicious cold summer salad.

 

 

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