I thought I would post this recipe because it is one of Jacqui’s favorites, and if the Picky Princess likes it, chances are, your kiddos will too. It is one of the recipes I reach for to entice her to eat again after one of her week-long CVS episodes. I have modified it from about three different recipes, but the original starting recipe was from Jessica Seinfeld’s book, Deceptively Delicious. I should note for new readers that I am well aware of the controversy around this book and I have discussed it in a past post: Gluten-Free Gems… Sweet Potato Pancakes. Despite the controversy, I have found it an incredibly useful book with great tasting recipes catered to a kid’s palate that are easy to prepare, nutritious, cost effective, and easy to convert to GFCF. And our family now has a GFCF Macaroni and Cheese recipe that Jacqui just loves. Hope it works well for your family too!
Kiddo Approved GFCF Macaroni And ‘Cheese’
8oz Tinkyada Macaroni Style Brown Rice Pasta
1/2 Cup Butternut Squash Puree
1/4 Cup Rice Milk
2 TBSP Dairy-Free Margarine
3 Slices American Style Tofutti Brand Soy Cheese
Note: Be very careful when selecting soy cheeses while on a casein-free diet. Many soy, rice and vegetable based cheese substitutes still contain casein in them, so ALWAYS read the label. Look for something that clearly states ‘Casein-Free’. Be aware that some cheese substitutes may also contain gluten, so be extremely careful choosing your cheese substitutes.
1/4 TSP Salt
Butternut Squash Puree:
The night before, prepare the butternut squash puree. Slice squash in half length-wise, scooping out the seeds and stringy pulp. Wrap each half in foil and bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until the ‘meat’ of the squash is soft. Scoop the baked squash from the rind, discard the rind and place the baked squash in food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, thin as needed with rice milk or water adding one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is met. Measure out 1/2 cup of the puree and store in refrigerator for use in the morning. Store the rest of the puree in 1/2 cup increments inside labeled quart freezer bags in the freezer for future use.
Macaroni Pasta:
Measure out your pasta, and follow the package directions for preparation. Be aware that rice pastas take a little more than twice the cooking time of wheat-based pastas. So start your pasta boiling before beginning the sauce.
Macaroni Pasta:
Remove squash puree from refrigerator. (If you are using some from the freezer, either let it thaw in the fridge overnight the night before, or place the ziplock bag in a warm bowl of water - it will thaw in about 3-5 minutes).
Snip a corner of your bag of puree and squeeze contents into a large saucepan. Place on medium heat. Add salt, margerine and cheese slices, stirring until cheese is melted and smooth. Measure out rice milk and add slowly until you reach a nice creamy texture for your sauce. You may require more or less of the rice milk, depending on your preferences. Turn burner to ‘warm’ for the sauce until pasta finishes boiling.
Drain pasta, add a dash of salt if you like. If you also add about a tsp of dairy-free margarine, it will help keep the noodles from sticking to each other.
Place Pasta in a large bowl and pour sauce over pasta. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated and re-heated, but just like the macaroni in that famous blue box, the sauce won’t be as creamy second time around. You can also make up a batch of the sauce and keep in the refrigerator for a few days to add over noodles prepared in smaller amounts. We do that at our house because Jacqui is the only one who needs the GFCF version. We make standard macaroni for the rest of the family because it is much less expensive and make up a small batch of the GFCF version for Jacqui. If you prepare it this way, you might have to add additional rice milk to thin the cheese sauce down once it has been refrigerated. It still tastes great and has lots of kid appeal. Hope it brings the same smiles to your house as it does to ours!
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So happy to read that Princess Jacqui is back! Huzzah!
March 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I’ll have to email this to my sister, she’s always looking for gluten free recipes.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
YUM! I saw a recipe like that not too long ago where butternut squash puree was used in the sauce! I wonder if it was from that book. I was thinking of checking it out of the library…of course, i don’t need to convert to CF…but only GF….hmmmm
Thanks for stopping by my blog recently. I cannot wait until my kitchen is done. I’m living off “gluten-free” premade foods that just aren’t as good as homemade!
March 25th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I went back and read your post about the pancakes and Deceptively Delicious. I actually think hiding some veggies in Meechi’s food would be a great idea. He has to get them somehow and he will have plenty of chances to learn why he needs them when he is old enough to understand. You can’t reason with a 2 year old about the benefits of broccoli!
March 26th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Just wanted to let you know that I was raving about all these recipes you put on your site, to a friend of mine the other day. She has a son that has ADHD, a son that though he is on the Autism spectrum, he’s not severe enough to be considered autistic. Anyway, because of this, and a few other health issues, she has to feed her children (she also has twin 2 year old daughters) gluten free food. I have shared your site with her, so that she can get some good recipes for her children. Though I don’t use any of them myself (I’m too lazy, and am blessed enough not to have to) I am thankful for mothers like you that are willing to share their successes in this area. Blessings to you, my friend!
March 26th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
The sauce sounds great, I eat a lot of brown rice pasta myself.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hi! I have order from this place all the time and am very pleased to share. They have great kosher organic and natural food products including tinkyada pasta.
Here is a link http://www.wholeandnatural.com
Enjoy!!!
p.s. I used a code try if it works for you bldc08
March 27th, 2008 at 3:47 am
I don’t know if you’ve seen this website or not: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ but this woman is trying to use her crockpot every day this year, and I believe she is gluten-free. Maybe there are some ideas for you.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:11 pm