Mac and Cheese Primavera _ The Pioneer Woman _ Food Network

Mac and cheese , primavera .

Two of my favorite spring recipes are mac and cheese and pasta .

Primavera .

A long time favorite of mine .

So I'm mashing up the two and making mac and cheese prima vera .

How good does that sound ?

I'm adding some vegetables to a pot containing butter and oil .

I just cut a bunch of asparagus into about two inch pieces and then I'll add some broccoli florets .

Primavera , of course means spring .

So I'm using spring vegetables and I also like to add garlic and green onion .

So I'll just scrape them in and for color .

I'm adding some red bell pepper .

Not exactly a famous spring vegetable , but sometimes I like to throw a little color in there just for fun .

I'm gonna stir it around just a bit and I'll add some salt and pepper .

Simple seasoning .

Spring vegetables don't need much .

I'm gonna stir and cook the veggies in the butter and oil for a few minutes .

Ok .

These veggies look gorgeous .

They're still nice and crisp , but they're starting to turn really bright green .

I'm gonna add half a cup of white wine .

You can skip the wine and add broth if you prefer and I don't want to cook the vegetables too much .

So this is a pretty quick moving recipe .

So next comes two cups of whole milk .

Spring is not the time to skimp and use about three milk in your recipes .

And then about a half a cup of heavy cream salt and pepper .

And this sauce is gonna take a little bit of time to get hot and start to bubble up .

So I'm gonna grab another spring veggie out of the freezer , frozen peas .

You can use fresh peas if you have them .

I rarely have fresh peas .

There's something about my soil that is not conducive with growing peas .

I'm just fine with the frozen and I just pour them right in .

I'm cheating a little bit on the sauce and I'll show you how it's really easy .

First , I'm gonna put some cheeses into a bowl .

I've got a generous cup of white cheddar and a generous cup of fontina .

Now , by cheating , I mean , I'm gonna use cornstarch to help thicken the sauce rather than make a white sauce and take all that time .

Two teaspoons of corn starch and then I'll just use my fingers .

Ok ?

The cheese is totally coated and the sauce is now bubbling away , which means it's hot enough to add the cheese .

So I'm gonna add just a handful at a time and I'll stir it lightly and make sure it all gets incorporated .

Look at how thick .

It's got already .

It looks beautiful .

Needs a little more pepper .

I like to see those little flecks .

And before I stir in the pepper , I'm gonna go ahead and add the macaroni and for the macaroni , I'm using little shells now .

Drum roll , please .

I'll turn the heat off under the sauce .

Holy moly .

It looks so good .

The little shells are just capturing that sauce .

So to finish it off , I like to Sprinkle on green onions just all over .

Ok .

There it is .

Mapple cheese , crema vera .