Mac N Cheese and my Odd Encounter at Target Cafe

I had something bizarre happen to me a Target last week.  In my efforts to grocery shop only bi-weekly and in doing so after Annie goes to bed on a Thursday evening, I entered Target around 7:30 pm and was starving as I hadn’t had anything for dinner yet.  I decided to forgo my sugary carb-filled Starbucks pumpkin bread for a healthier (?) deep fried Target café option.  Here is what happened:

Me:  Staring at the menu.  “How are your chicken strips, are they lightly breaded or do they have lots breading?”  (I don’t like lots of breading).

Target Girl:  “Ya….. I would not order those if I was you.  They are pretty gross.  They are frozen and bake for 4 minutes and are pretty generic.” 

Me: “Wow, ok.  I appreciate your honesty.  I’m kinda a chicken strip connoisseur so that would have been a huge let down.”  Pause, as I looked at the menu more….

Target Girl:  “You are thinking about the grilled cheese aren’t you?  Don’t do it.  It’s even worse than the chicken strips.”

Me: “Are you serious?!! How can a grilled cheese be WORSE than the chicken strips?!!!”

Target Girl:  “It’s so nasty, the cheese is so fake and processed that it actually burns and doesn’t even melt.”

Me: “My Word!”  I’m standing here just shocked at this point, I start to stare at the pretzels, pretzels aren’t really my thing but I’m running out of options and starving.  I look up at this teenage target girl to gauge her approval over the pretzels and I get an unspoken ‘don’t do it’ look.  Ugh, what is safe?!

Me: “I’ll take the cheese pizza.” 

Target Girl gets me the cheese pizza and rings me up.  “ I’m so sorry but I can’t fake it when the food is that bad, I don’t mean to tell you that stuff but I can’t lie.”

Me: “I totally understand, just whatever you do, don’t tell me about the cheese pizza.  I’m starving!”

MMMKKAYY, how weird was that!?!  I’m not making this up, that really happened.  So I guess I won’t be eating at Target Café again anytime soon.  Guess I’ll have to resort to Starbucks pumpkin bread for dinner when I’m in a pinch again.  Wow.  Enlightening, really.

So I really am a chicken strip connoisseur but you know what I love more than chicken strips?  Macaroni and cheese.  I’m a total mac n cheese connoisseur!  Check my Pinterest board… you’ll see.   Have you ever noticed how most mac n cheeses use a secret ingredient and it’s usually Dijon mustard or just a dab of hot sauce?  Ya, not a fan.  I’ve made them with those so called ‘secret ingredients’ and it’s true that you can’t really taste them but I don’t like mustard and I don’t like hot sauce so even the fact that I can’t taste it but know it’s in there is just a turn off for me.   So when I came across this Mac N Cheese recipe, I was excited.   And it was A-MAH-ZING!  I added chicken and broccoli to mine to call it an entrée J.  It’s a MUST try!  I’ve tried many mac n cheeses and this one might be the leader of my favorites.   Enjoy this one, you are welcome my friends!    

You know you want some... it doesn't look cheesy but it was. Very cheesy! 

I may or may not of nibbled off this serving spoon.  No guests were contaminated by me doing so. 

If you eat anything high calorie with salad you feel like you cancel out and left feeling healthified.  True for me anyways. 

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz package large elbow macaroni, cooked to pkg. instructions, but leaving them a little firm
• 2 medium heads fresh broccoli (14-16oz), but in small bite size pieces
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• about 1/2 cup of extra cheese for topping
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• kosher or sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large pot, boil water and cook pasta to instructions, but leaving pasta a little al dente. About 3 minutes before draining pasta, add broccoli to cook in water alongside pasta.
2. Grease a large 9 x 12 baking dish.
3. While pasta is cooking prepare the cheese and milk mixture. In large pot on medium heat, add butter and onion. Cook onions till soft, then add flour. Stir flour quickly to combine the flour and onion rue mixture. Add milk and chicken broth.
4. Allow mixture to come to a boil and sauce will thicken. Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drain your cooked pasta and broccoli and add to cheese mixture. Gently mix together and pour into baking dish. Add extra cheese and bread crumbs on top.
6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted with a nice crust.