Quick Macaroni and Cheese (Lunch) for Kids

My daughter has had a craving for "Macwani-cheese" lately and of course, since it involves pasta, it's a pain to fill a pot, boil the water, cook the pasta, then (depending if it's homemade or boxed) you have to prepare the cheese sauce and serve. 

I figured that there must be a faster way.

I read an article that mentioned that one can cook a small amount of pasta straight in the pan and save time, so I decided to give it a try for this quick mac-n-cheese.

Quick Macaroni and Cheese (Lunch) for Kids

1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1 cup water

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup milk

1-2 slices American cheese (to taste)

pinch of pepper

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Begin by adding the 1/2 cup pasta and 1 cup water to a small pan. Sprinkle on a pinch of salt.

Fire up to the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Once the water reaches a boil, set your timer for about 8 minutes.

As the pasta absorbs the water, it will reduce quickly.

When you are nearly out of water (and the 8 minutes is almost up - this may vary from kitchen to kitchen) cut the heat to low.

Make sure to taste the pasta to make sure it's al denté. Add a little more water if it's not.

Add the tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup of milk and the slice of cheese.

You can use 2 slices if you want it SUPER cheesy.

Stir to combine.

Cook over low heat for maybe 2 minutes until everything is thoroughly combined.

Kill the heat and you'll see the sauce tighten up a lot.

Sprinkle with a pinch of pepper.

Serve to a delighted child.

(I ate the leftovers. It was dynamite. I'll probably make mac-n-cheese this way in the future.)

Enjoy!