We based this on a recipe for Swiss Chard and Sweet Pea Manicotti, by Giada de Laurentis… I thought that on the show she used something like spinach, but I couldn’t remember, so we went to the store and bought spinach before we actually looked up the recipe, whoops! But this version tastes very similar, I would assume, and the recipe itself is really really yummy, so it is worth a try, whether you want to follow her version or ours.
We seem to go through Mac and Cheese recipes like there’s no tomorrow. This one is extra creamy and rich, due to the thicker rue. The recipe calls for Velveeta, but its so much easier (and tastier) to make your own cheese base.
Traditionally when we made Mac and Cheese (a favorite in this household), we would use Velveeta cheese for the creamy base, and add in other cheeses to give it a cheese flavor that’s not…Velveeta. More recently, we have discovered that using a roux makes them even more creamy and delicious, and we don’t have to use Velveeta. Combined with baking, it becomes absolutely amazing.