I had brunch with my brother and sister the other week, and my brother was asking if mom's macaroni and cheese recipe was in her cookbook, “From Nonnie's Italian Kitchen.” It triggered my thinking for this month's article. My mother had a way of making what is not usually considered healthy food, well, somehow, healthy.

Everybody likes “mac n cheese.” My mother never bought a pre-packaged box of anything to just heat and serve. No. ... she used real pasta and real cheese and then added tomatoes to give it a healthier nudge.

Having come from a poor family, she learned how to cook economically and yet nutritiously. No matter the cost of the ingredients, it was always delicious.

As I have said, growing up, we would have pasta several times a week, but it was always a different sauce, a different pasta, different taste. It tasted like a totally different meal every time even though it was all pasta.

The benefits were numerous: inexpensive, healthy, easy to prepare, easy to bring on a picnic and again, always delicious.

So, this month, because we are now officially into summer, I am featuring two recipes that fit all those criteria.

And the “mac n cheese,” if made right, will be the best you have ever tasted and far cheaper than what you buy in a box. Enjoy.

Bob Leonardi, of Auburn, ran a successful restaurant business, catering, and gourmet food store in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for 15 years.

Macaroni and Cheese

Makes 4 servings

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

2 cups crushed tomatoes

1/2 to 3/4 pound mozzarella or cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons or so extra virgin olive oil

1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

Cook elbow macaroni in boiling, salted water until “al dente” and drain. Mix tomatoes with oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Put a small amount of tomato mixture on bottom of a well greased baking dish. Add a layer of macaroni, tomato mixture and sliced cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used, ending with a layer of tomatoes and cheese. Top with bread crumbs.

Bake, covered for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Baked pasta

1 pound ziti or rigatoni

4 cups tomato sauce

1/4 to 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup or so Romano cheese, grated

1/2 to 3/4 cup bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until “al dente” and drain. Mix 3 cups tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of the grated Romano cheese into the pasta.

Grease a large casserole dish and sprinkle bottom and sides with half the bread crumbs.

Pour the pasta into the casserole and cover with the remaining sauce.

Sprinkle top with remaining bread crumbs and grated cheese. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Note: This dish can be made days in advance and then heated up just before serving.