Simple Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

After we came back from the US last Christmas, all my son Jonas wanted to eat was Kraft Mac and Cheese.  Unfortunately, the few packets we had brought along didn’t last forever.  And, even though I was thrilled that Jonas finally ate pasta, he refused to eat any other pasta that you put in front of him.

I decided I was going to try to duplicate Kraft.  I soon got the taste down, and found mini macaroni, but I couldn’t get that infamous yellow color.  

Jonas is a very picky eater.  For the past two years it has been almost impossible to get him to eat any vegetables whatsoever, not even carrots (Thankfully, he eats fruit). Adding sweet potatoes to the mac and cheese killed two birds with one stone.  I finally got that bright yellow color and I got to sneak in some valuable vitamins and minerals into Jonas’s diet.

This simple sweet potato recipe has become Jonas’s favorite.  Over time, I have increased the sweet potato without any negative repurcussions.  My first successful recipe contained Velveeta.  However, Jonas often complained of a stomachache after eating it and when I added shredded real cheese instead, his tummy aches disappeared.

One day I found a leftover packet of Kraft  Mac and Cheese.  I made if for Jonas thinking he would be thrilled to have the original again.  He didn’t want it and asked for mine.  I couldn’t ask for a better complement.

Here's the Recipe:

Simple Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

2 C Milk

1 t salt

1 1/2 T sugar

2 T butter

2 T flour

½ to 1 C Sweet Potato puree

1 C shredded cheese

1 C macaroni noodles

1.  In a frying pan, melt the   Add flour and mix until the flour is thoroughly dissolved in the butter. 

 butter.  Add milk and while stirring constantly, bring just to a boil and remove from heat.

2.  Add sweet potato puree, cheese, sugar, and salt.  Mix until smooth.

3.  Add cooked macaroni noodles to the frying pan.  Use a spatula to mix noodles with sauce until completely covered. Give Mac and Cheese to kids and wait for them to say, “Yummy!”