We are getting our pork on, thanks to Smithfield! All recipes and opinions are my own, so enjoy, and thank you for supporting the sponsors who support A Simple Pantry!
If you are a mac and cheese aficionado, then you are going to cry tears of joy over this Pork & Vegetable Mac and Cheese, cause zomg.
I’ve always been the super simplistic gal when it came to my mac and cheese. Just throw some cojack in there and I’m good. Cause I love cheese.
It’s an addiction, I swear.
But since I am in the holiday spirit, I decided to get a little wild and utilized a few ingredients I normally would not, like vegetables, and fontina cheese.
SERIOUSLY SO GOOD.
Want to know why? Because it simply is, I dunno.
I mean, normally my kids are like whatever about my normal mac and cheese. There is something wrong with them, pretty sure of it.
Anyway.
Remember that amazing herbed mayonnaise roasted pork loin? Hells yes. I had some leftovers from it, and decided to add it to this dish for a super amazing flavor bomb of deliciousness.
Think Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner on steroids.
The brilliance of this vegetable mac and cheese, in addition to the amazing Smithfield Original Recipe Marinated Fresh Pork Loin Filet, is that I incorporated a lot of leftover veggies from party trays I had in the fridge.
I mean, who doesn’t have a party tray lying around during the holiday season?
So I shredded up some carrots. chopped up some broccoli, then threw in some chopped spinach for good measure and voila!
I also went with fontina because I always have that around, what with leftover turkey and stuff for sandwiches? HOLLA.
The kids devoured this pork & vegetable mac and cheese. Because of the way I chopped and shredded everything, there weren’t weird texture issues, and I boiled the veggies with the noodles to soften them up.
If you want to go all out, top it with panko bread crumbs and toss it in the oven for a few minutes, otherwise just mix it all up and serve immediately. You will have a happy family, I promise.
Looking for more recipe inspiration? Check out this droolworthy Smithfield Pork with Sweet Balsamic Red Wine Reduction. Dinner is served in 30 minutes! Yum!
Vegetable Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 C Elbow Macaroni
- 1/2 C Shredded Carrots
- 1/2 C Chopped Broccoli Florets
- 1/2 C Chopped Fresh Spinach
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 C Half & Half
- 8 oz Fontina Cheese, shredded
- Kosher Salt, to taste
- Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
- 1 C Leftover Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork Loin Filet, chopped and warmed
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat, add the macaroni and cook as directed on the package, adding the vegetables with 6 minutes left of cooking.
- While the macaroni and veggies boil, melt the butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour until a thick paste forms (roux).
- Very slowly add the half & half to the roux, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Allow to gently simmer until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, then add the fontina cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the noodles and vegetables are done, drain and return to the pot. Pour the fontina cheese sauce over the noodles and vegetables and stir to combine. Stir in the warmed pork, then serve immediately.
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