Mac And Cheese Bar For " Its Too Hot To Cook Dinner"

 It is summer and for most of us it is hot outside. When it is hot outside I don't want to turn on the oven to cook dinner so I have a wonderful dinner idea for a hot night dinner. I made a mac and cheese bar the other night for dinner and my family loved it. My kids love mac and cheese but it is a little to plain for my husband.  He like to add things like meat to his mac and cheese which the younger boys will not it. I on the other hand like more veggies in my pasta and less cheese. So I came up with an idea that pleases us all.

I made a pan of pasta, and variety will work but my family likes rotini. I then took a muffin pan and place different items in the cups, you can also use bowls. I used items like cooked broccoli, turkey dogs, veggie chicken( I don't eat meat) salsa and cheese.

I then placed the bowl of pasta and toppings on the counter, along with serving bowls. Everyone put what toppings they wanted into their bowl and then I microwaved each bowl for about a minute until the cheese melted. The result was a dinner that made everyone happy.

I put broccoli, veggie chicken and cheese on my pasta and it was so yummy.

The toppings that you can use are endless. You can use veggies like peas, corn, spinach or other favorites. Meat toppings like cooked chicken, hot dogs and lunch meat are good. I only had cheddar cheese but you can use different cheeses to make great mac and cheese.

This is also a great idea for parties too. This would be great for a kids party instead of the usual pizza. I will be serving this a lot during the summer as my family loved it.

 What toppings will you be using for your mac and cheese bar?

Here are some other "its too hot to cook" ideas. I would love to see some of your "its too hot to cook" dinner ideas. Leave your ideas or links in the comment section.

Broccoli salad

Slow cooker vegetarian sloppy joes

Spring rolls

Breakfast Burritos

Spinach spelt salad with cranberries