How much mac is too much before sprints
Real cheese sauce from butter, flour, and two and a half cups of milk, a pound of elbows, a cup and a half of cubed ham, and frozen peas folded in at the end.
Now the honest part. This is the heaviest dinner in the early rotation, and a giant bowl of it at 4:45 will show up as a side stitch at 6:10. Serve a cup, put apple slices next to it, and tell them there is more after.
Ingredients
The recipe serves 4 to 6. Plan on about 20 minutes.
- 1 box (12 oz) elbow macaroni
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked ham
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
How to Make It
- Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until tender, about 8 minutes, adding the frozen peas for the last 2 minutes, then drain.
- Melt the butter in the same pot over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and cook 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cheddar until melted, then season with the salt and pepper.
- Fold the drained macaroni, peas, and ham cubes into the cheese sauce until everything is coated and the ham is warmed through.
Timing Before Practice
Start about 30 minutes before you leave so the cheesy mac cools enough for kids to eat.
- T-minus 30: boil the pasta and start the cheese sauce
- T-minus 15: fold in the ham and peas, then plate early eaters
- T-minus 5: water bottles and shoes, no new cooking
Make It Ahead or Save Leftovers
This reheats best with a splash of milk to bring the sauce back together.
- Cube the ham and shred the cheese the night before
- Reheat leftovers with a splash of milk so the sauce stays creamy
- Pack a portion for a warm next-day lunch in a thermos
- Serve with: apple slices, steamed broccoli
Parent Tip
Pull the pot off the heat before stirring in the cheese so it melts smooth instead of turning grainy.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
The pot off the heat before the cheese
Cheddar melts smooth in hot milk and turns grainy in boiling milk, and you only make that mistake once.
A cup serving with fruit beside it
Give them the smaller bowl and a sliced apple, and there is a second helping waiting when practice is over.
Ham cubed and cheese shredded the night before
Both jobs take five minutes and neither one is possible while a pot is boiling over.
A splash of milk on the reheat
The sauce tightens in the fridge, and two tablespoons of milk brings it back creamy at 8:40.
A thermos portion for tomorrow's lunch
Preheat the thermos with boiling water, fill it hot, and it is still warm at noon.
Plan the next step
See more comfort-food dinners
Round up a few crowd-pleasers that sneak protein and veg into the meals kids actually want.