WF happened to Mac&Cheese? Found a box of the stuff, and it's damn near poisonous...

[TreasonousBastard]

What looks like freeze dried cooked macaroni straws and a bag of orange powder. Cook the decidedly un-elbow macaroni, drain it, and mix in the orange stuff with a little milk and butter.

Did all that, and it not only doesn't look like the stuff on the front of the box, it doesn't much smell like food. Tastes terrible, too.

IIRC, my mother used to make the stuff by cooking real elbows and cutting Velveeta into the drained macaroni. Maybe something else to make it a little special, but it had the requisite gooiness and taste. I threw in some shredded cheddar and a little paprika and turmeric to spice it up, but it didn't help.

This week I get a box of elbows and a box of Velveeta and see what happens.

[Thomas Hurt]

2. The Velveeta boxed mac and cheese is decent, much better than the powdered stuff.

[The Magistrate]

3. That's What It's Always Been, Sir

Best served warm....

[cilla4progress]

4. I have a really good, easy

homemade recipe!

Want it?

[TreasonousBastard]

34. Sure.

[cilla4progress]

38. OK, got this from a friend who got it from Cook's Illustrated

I monkey around with it a TON, which is how I roll in my cooking!

It's basically, boil the noodles, grate the cheese, make a cream sauce, top with bread crumbs, bake 7 minutes or so!

===================

This fits into a 13x9 baking dish:

1 lb. penne - boil to very al dente (a little chewy)

Combine 4 oz shredded Fontina, 3 oz crumbled Gorgonzola, 1/3 c. grated Parmesan, 1/2 c. grated Pecorino Romano OR WHATEVER DAMN CHEESE YOU HAVE ON HAND AND LIKE!! (That's the fun/creative part.)

Melt over medium heat 2 t. butter. Whisk in 2 t. flour. Add 1 1/2 c. cream. Whisk in, bring to boil, simmer 1 min.

Drain pasta briefly, leaving it slightly wet. Add pasta to cheese. Immediately pour cream sauce over pasta. Cover with a plate and leave for 3 minutes for the magic to occur. Uncover and pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, more cheese and pepper if you wish.

BAKE AT 500 ABOUT 7 MINUTES OR TILL GOLDEN BROWN. So good. You can sub part half and half or milk for cream.

Thank me later.

[TreasonousBastard]

39. Excellent! Thanx.

[Demobrat]

5. I got an instant pot and followed their Mac and cheese recipe.

Basically, cook the noodles and mix them up with grated cheddar and a little cream.

I ate way more than I care to mention!

No reason it wouldn’t work in a regular pot

[unblock]

6. Actually, adding just one slice of velveeta really helps any cheese sauce

It's the emulsifiers that give it that silky texture. The taste is hardly amazing as cheeses go, but just one slice added in for the texture is worth it.

Cheddar is a much better taste imho, but it tends to goop up as a sauce. Hence the one slice of velveeta.

[niyad]

7. Of course, you could buy the frozen mac and cheese. Or Annie's. Or make your own. Cook

elbows, or whatever pasta shape you like (I prefer small shellls), and make a proper cheese sauce. Mix together, add a crumb/cheese topping and bake. Velveeta is orange plastic.

[Initech]

8. I make my own cheese sauce and it's so much better!

I'll eat Kraft because it's cheap but make a sauce from scratch and Kraft pales in comparison!

[niyad]

13. GMTA

[Haggard Celine]

9. I buy the macaroni and cheese that has

the cheese, milk, and butter mixed up already, so I just squeeze the stuff into the macaroni after I boil it. The mixture is like a cream and it combines with the macaroni easily. That dried powder is not like cheese to me. It takes a lot of stirring to combine everything well, and it still tastes like shit after you go to all that trouble.

[niyad]

15. If one is going to use a box, boil the pasta, drain. In the pot, heat the milk and butter, then

add the cheese pack. Stir, bring to boil, cook until sauce thickens, add back the pasta, stir, heat through.

[Haggard Celine]

17. I've never mixed up my cheese powder, butter, and milk

together on the stove like that. I've always just taken my cooked macaroni and thrown each ingredient into the bowl on top of it. Then I would stir it up. I can see how your way would mix a lot better with the pasta. I'll do it that way the next time I buy the dried stuff.

[niyad]

20. Let me know how you like it. I find that it turns out much better that way.

[Haggard Celine]

22. I'll do that, thanks!

[MuseRider]

26. That is exactly

what I do. I practically lived on the stuff for about 5 years while the gastroparesis raged. For some reason I could tolerate it. Now, I still have it cooked up as I hope and pray the GP never comes back but I sprinkle in a lot of different things now that I could not then. Right now I use a pinch of Garam Masala, just a pinch and add a tiny bit of feta in the mix or just sprinkled on top.

I cannot stand the stuff in the package that you squeeze on. Everything is so emulsified these days and it makes me think of melted plastic. Each to their own.

[NanceGreggs]

10. My father's second wife ...

... was a terrible cook - except for her homemade mac and cheese, which was fantastic!

After many years of estrangement from my half sisters, we reconnected - and I asked if they knew their mom's recipe. Being as she was Italian, I assumed it was an old family recipe that had been passed down.

My sisters were astonished when I asked for the "recipe", which was: Boil elbow macaroni, drain, throw in a wedge of Velveeta, and mix until cheese melts.

She also used to put it in a casserole dish and place it under the broiler in the oven, which gave it a cheesy-crust on top.

So much for the handed-down, old world recipe!

[FirstLight]

11. and then ppl wonder why the poor have more health issues...

when you are on food stamps, this crud and PB&J and Ground beef (the cheapest worst kids) are your staples...


I used to "fix it" by adding some real cheese and pepper... made it a little creamier...bbut to this day my adult kids HATE it
...and hot dogs lol


The best is Annies organic with the squeezey cheeze in the pouch...but it's like $5 a box!

[Archae]

12. I bought two boxes of Velveeta mac and cheese, with bacon.

Oh...nom nom nom...

Ate one last night, have about 2/3 of the box left.

[cayugafalls]

14. Ever since I ventured forth and made my own cheese sauce, I can't turn back.

So much control and cheese options...just yummy gooiness.

[Laffy Kat]

21. Oh, the homemade stuff is so yummy.

I love to burn a little of the cheese on top along with the breadcrumbs. Now I want some.

[onethatcares]

33. mac and gouda cheeze

a white sauce with cubes of spam. Pure comfort food. the burnt bread crumb topping should be standard.

with the pre made, pre shrunk, fake cheeze box option from kraft, ya may as well just toss the box into a pan of boiling water and take it from there...

[chia]

16. If you don't want to cook from scratch, Trader Joe's has a pretty terrific frozen mac n cheese

[Kali]

29. Which appears to be

just cooked pasta with grated cheese on top frozen for you to microwave.
But OMG it is so freaking good!!!

[keithbvadu2]

18. Had a box at my son's house but he did not have any milk so I tried ranch dressing.

Had a box at my son's house but he did not have any milk so I tried ranch dressing.

Once a lifetime is enough for that experiment.

[niyad]

23. Wheen .I make potato salad, I mix various ranch dressing flavors in with the warm,

Cubed potatoes. Same with certain pasta salads. Mix the ranch, or whatever dressing, in with the warm, cooked pasta.

[Laffy Kat]

19. My boys loved it when they were little, although I only made it in a pinch.

Recently, my youngest wanted to try it again and he hated it. He said it wasn't the same. It didn't look the same to me, either.

[Dream Girl]

24. Make it from scratch. Not that difficult and a zillion times better.

[Cracklin Charlie]

25. Milk butter salt pepper

Plus the cheese and noodles. You can do this.

Don’t eat that stuff in the box.

[TreasonousBastard]

36. I have done that, and it is good.

[woodsprite]

27. "Velvets and shells" is a good quick mix.

So is the Cracker Barrel mixes. They have different flavors.

[GoodRaisin]

28. Mix the cooked noodles with your favorite shredded cheese and with cottage cheese, butter and

and salt and pepper to your taste and then pour over an egg white. Top with more shredded cheese if you like. Bake at 350 until the cheese is bubbly. Yum yum.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

30. I'm personally not a huge fan of macaroni and cheese.

But in a semi-long lifetime (almost 73 now) I've learned that cooking things from scratch is invariably better than some kind of boxed mix or pre-prepared whatever.

For what it's worth, my mother never made mac and cheese, nor have I. I will admit a certain fondness for the Stouffer's frozen version, even after my statement about fixing things from scratch. Should I share my brownie recipe with you?

[malaise]

32. In my entire life I bought Mac and cheese in a box once

then I returned to making my own.
I like a teaspoon of regular mustard in mine and I throw in chopped green onions, celery and carrots as well. Sometimes I even add a layer of chopped spinach in the middle.

[TreasonousBastard]

35. That looks interesting, but when dealing with comfort food, sometimes the simpler,...

smoother and junkier the better.

I do like all the ingredients, though, and use them for other things in, like, real meals.

[malaise]

37. LOL

Popeye will find yah!

[ruet]

40. If You're Making it Using the Instructions on the Box,...

you're doing it wrong.

1.) Get a 16oz box of decent elbow macaroni and 2 boxes of regular Kraft mac & cheese.
2.) After adding your macaroni to boiling water; wait for a re-boil to begin timing. (I like mine a little stiffer than al dente)
3.) Once at re-boil add a stick of butter to a small saucepan and heat on low.
4.) Once the butter is melted, wisk in 1/2 cup of whole milk.
5.) Just before the butter/milk mixture boils, SLOWLY, wisk in the cheese powder. (you may need to turn off the burner here to avoid a boil)
7.) Continue whisking the mixture until all lumps are dissolved and it looks like it's about to boil/scald
8.) Remove the cheese sauce from heat.
8.) Drain your macaroni but do not rinse it.
9.) Return the macaroni to its pan and set the burner to low-med.
10) Poor the cheese sauce over the macaroni and stir until completely combined an piping hot.

For a little extra you can fry some bacon bits in your sauce pan prior to melting the butter WITH it.
For a super bonus. Add some sliced jalapenos before serving.


This is about 35 years of Kraft Mac & Cheese science at work here. I can guarantee the presentation but not always the flavor. Sometimes it's still a bit bland. I think it has to do with over/under heating the sauce. It's still good but when it's just right it's great.

DOUBLE SUPER BONUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1.) Get a 16oz box of decent elbow macaroni.
2.) After adding your macaroni to boiling water; wait for a re-boil to begin timing. (I like mine a little stiffer than al dente)
3.) Once at re-boil add a stick of butter to a small saucepan and heat on low.
4.) Once the butter is melted, wisk in 1/2 cup of whole milk.
5.) Just before the butter/milk mixture boils, SLOWLY, wisk in 1/2 cup of, grated parmesan. (Do not use the Kraft rubbish and don't get all crazy with Reggiano. ...unless you want to)
7.) Continue whisking the mixture until the parmesan and milk is well combined, not stringy and is about to boil.
8.) Salt and pepper (I use white pepper here) to taste.
8.) Remove the cheese sauce from heat.
8.) Drain your macaroni but do not rinse it.
9.) Return the macaroni to its pan and set the burner to low-med.
10.) Poor the cheese sauce over the macaroni and stir until completely combined an piping hot.
11.) Liberally, sprinkle parmesan over the dish before serving.

[miyazaki]

41. They changed their recipes years ago and caught hell for it

Their facebook page was literally a wall of hate. Also in their infinite wisdom they discontinued many of their other popular varieties.

[ruet]

42. The "Thick & Creamy" Variety is Still Quite Good on its Own. -NT-

[miyazaki]

43. Is it? I miss the jalepeno version they got rid of.

Sprouts store has a hatch green chili mac and cheese that's seasonal and pretty good.

[Demovictory9]

44. velveeta? yuck. real mac and cheese made by melting down real cheese