So many people serve their kids green food on St. Patrick’s Day.  I love to do it too, but I’m not a fan of unnatural food coloring.  My kids requested green mac and cheese today, and I was happy to oblige.    When they were babies, I used the Annabel Karmel books to make purees and toddler foods.  We’ve adapted this recipe and used over and over throughout the years.  It’s still a favorite and made a perfect healthy addition to St. Patrick’s Day.  Maybe you can serve it to your family tonight!

Start the water for macaroni.  Meanwhile in a separate pan, make a roux with equal parts butter and flour, whisk it and let it cook for a couple minutes.

Add the milk a little at a time and let it come to a boil until it is thickened.

Add the swiss cheese and let it melt.  I have to say that I was originally a little hesitant to use swiss like she recommended, but it’s so mild that everyone is a fan.

Pour the cheese sauce over the package of spinach in a blender and blend until smooth.  Be careful because this is hot!

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  I like to use whole wheat.

The last couple minutes it’s cooking, add in the corn.  Or, if you’re like me and use a pot that is way too small as always, you’ll have to cook the corn separately!  Drain both.

And that’s it.  Mix the sauce and pasta/corn together.  Add salt to taste.  My kids each ate at least 2 bowls.  I think you’ll love it.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

[ultimate-recipe id=”2612″]

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Remember the post on how to make corned beef that’s perfect every time?  I promised you at the end of that one to show you how to make reuben Salad.  I was messing around with leftovers and realized this was a wonderful, lower carb option!  Plus, it travels better than a reuben!  I began by making croutons out of leftover Rye bread.

Dice the bread into crouton sized chunks.  Mine were a little big and hard to chew 🙂

Take a small pan and add a bit of olive oil in the bottom.  While the olive oil is cold, add smashed garlic.  Turn on heat and swirl occasionally until it smells fragrant, like garlic.  Put the cubes on a sheet pan and drizzle with the garlic olive oil.  Toss around until they are completely coated.  Salt to taste.  Put in a 400 degree oven for 10-20 min, until they are lightly browned.  Mine were in for closer to twenty because they were huge.  But littler ones cook quicker.  I also stir them every 5-10 minutes.  Here’s what they look like when they are done.  Golden and delicious.

To make the salad, put your preferred greens onto your plate – I used spinach.  Top with chunks of corned beef, chunks of swiss cheese, rye croutons, thousand island dressing and a bit of sauerkraut (I put a little in a towel and squeeze it out before I put it on the salad).  And that’s it!  Enjoy the taste of St. Patrick’s Day, even after the day has passed!

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