mac and cheese recipes

[Kaylee]

Here's two recipes for very tastee, yet cheap & easy to make, mac & cheese.


The first is decadent, not healthy, but oh-so-good for a morale boost!

Three items: one box of "deluxe" mac & cheese (or shells), one SPAM Single, one onion.

By "deluxe" mac & cheese, I mean the generic form of the kind that comes with Velveeta liquid cheese.
It typically costs about $1.25 (@Aldi) to about $1.60 (name brand runs over $2/box), and produces about 2 to 3 servings.

• start boiling the water for the macaroni/shells
  
• start your SPAM frying
  
• chop your onion and add to SPAM (it doesn't have to be a whole onion - use as much as you like)
  
• when the mac is ready, add your liquid cheese, mix well
  
• add your SPAM & onions
  
• enjoy!
  

Bonus: aroma therapy.
Almost certainly Not Safe for bear country.

Action shots:





If you use "shells", they cook a lot faster than macaroni.
I normally prep everything at the same time.
I've made this in motels, using my thermos to "cook" the shells, and nuking the SPAM & onions in a nukeable bowl. Works out pretty well.


The second is relatively healthy, yet still tastee and easy to make.

I saw it on "America's Test Kitchen" on PBS, but their website is evil, so here's an equivalent recipe:
https://renecarter.wordpress.com/2017/02...nd-cheese/
It's a lot easier to make than that may sound like.

I've made it three times, always used whole wheat pasta, and merely "medium" instead of aged cheddar.
Instead of grating the deli American cheese, I just quickly cut it into narrow strips, and it melted fine.
I didn't have any of the spices, so didn't include 'em.
Originally, I was going to skip the panko bread crumbs, but saw a box at Aldi's so impulse bought it. It definitely pumps it up nicely, though does require a separate pan.

Here it is, right after the cheese has melted:

Notice how white the pasta appears? That's not the yuppie-high-end stuff, that's the uber-cheap, somewhat gritty, no-name store brand. The boiling in milk changes the color and the taste is indistinguishable from "white" pasta.
This is a great way to "sneak" some whole grain into your kids'/grandkids' diet.

Here's the final version, with some parmesan:


Seriously easy, inexpensive, and mostly guilt free.

[Motrukdriver]

Love mac and cheese any way you can make it. Sometimes with a can of tuna and a small can of early peas, sometimes with ham chunks... heck, you can put just about any food stuff in mac and cheese and it turns out great. Dunno about anchovies...

[Anna]

I used to turn my nose up at mac&cheese only because i grew up on pasta made with mince meat, pasta sauce and noodles. Till ofcourse one night Ron made me some and even then i was hesitant to try it out but he made it and added other ingredients which made it palatable to my taste buds. I don't mind it now and again but i definitely wouldn't be the first one ready to cook it as i find it too rich with all that cheese even though i love cheese.

[ratfink56]

I like the idea of using just enough liquid to cook the mac. I use bottled cheese dip and hot dog size smokies in mine.

[Kaylee]

ratfink56: pics would be welcome.
Which "bottled cheese dip" do you use?
Have you tried Vienna sausages? I'm "meh" on them, but they're a single serving & cheap, so I do plan to experiment with them, soonish.


Last week, on a mildly chilly night, I made that "relatively healthy" mac & cheese recipe, in my van. It was the most complicated thing I've made, to date.

My scale broke while I was in da Forest, so I had to wing it, amounts wise.
I had some leftover whole wheat "bow tie" pasta (the only whole grain kind I could find online @Target), so I used it.

Guesstimated it was about half of the amount in the recipe, so measured out half the water & milk, added the pasta, then added enough milk to barely cover it, and turned on the flame:


When the pasta was cooked enough, added the American Cheese (uncolored):


Stirred & cooked for another minute, then added shredded cheddar, stirred, covered, and let sit:


Moved to my bed/work-area/dining-room:

I left the mess in the pic (instead of cropping it out), for Jewell Ann's enjoyment & encouragement.
The orange box is a Little Caesar's "lunch combo" box (currently on sale for $4 and my only treat/indulgence since the engine seize), which is a perfect stand for hot pots/pans.
Blanch: yes, I finally moved my binoculars to the back, after a couple of days of very distracting birds. I'm parked at the edge of a ridge by a river valley with plenty of birds.

Closeup of the richly sauced pasta:

Even though I majorly winged it, it turned out well.
I like recipes that don't require obsessive measuring.

That's the first time I used either of my "backpacker pots" in the van.
Years ago, I'd bought them to save space while travelling, but I now suspect a regular (non large) sauce pot would be more fuel efficient. Will check if I still have one, and do some comparisons, eventually.

I cheated and used a proper bathroom to wash up. It's definitely messier than many recipes, but I was able to scrape up most of it with a bagel.

Since my scale had died, I don't know how much butane I used.
I still have enough for another batch, and today my scale is working (after some real-Kaylee-ing), so I plan to make it again, very soon.

[Wabbit]

Add 2 slices of sandwich cheese(Velveeta slices type). It has to be the kind that melts. I use the cheap cheap no melt slices on sandwiches and save the melty slices for Mac and cheese. Yum.

[Kaylee]

Wabbit: LOL!

That's exactly how the recipe works.
There's an emulsifier in "American" cheese that magically interacts with the milk, and creates the sauce. No goofy multi-steps involved.
For you (among others), I've copied and pasted the one person amounts, below.

First, since it was cold today, and I still had enough 'merican cheese, I made another batch, and since my scale now works, was able to measure everything.

It took a mere 12 grams of butane to cook.
I was pleasantly surprised by that!
It takes about 10 minutes to cook, which is the longest burn time I've had, so far. Butane is very roughly one cent per gram, so pretty good bang for your buck.

Here's the recipe, scaled down for one person:
(Note that you should buy the "American cheese" at the deli counter, and might as well ask them to slice it as thin as possible (I always have).)

3/4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces pasta (I've always used whole grain)

2 ounces American cheese, shredded or sliced (1/2 cup)
(optional) 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
(optional) small pinch cayenne pepper

2 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)

1. Measure milk, water and pasta into pot.
Flame on, leave at high, and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low (i.e. fluid is gently bubbling).
Continue cooking, stirring often, until pasta is cooked, about 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add American cheese (optional: mustard, cayenne), and continue cooking
while stirring constantly, until cheese is melted, about 1 minute.

3. Turn off heat, stir in cheddar. Cover pot, let stand for 5 minutes.

4. (optional) Fry panko bread crumbs with parmesan cheese in a bit of oil, add.
Or just shake some shredded parm on at the end.

It's delightfully simple, with only 5 key ingredients, and no straining.

[Kaylee]

Tonight's low is going to be about 24F, which was a good excuse to make another batch of healthy mac&cheese-from-scratch, and thereby pump some heat into the van.

This time, I remembered to add Parmesan, and instead of just cheddar, used a pre-mixed bag of Monterey Jack & Cheddar. Yup, four cheeses... delicious.
Used ultra-cheap gnarly whole-grain no-name pasta.
This is my 4th time in the van, the 3rd time I've measured my butane, and every time it's been 12 grams, plus or minus less than half a gram.

[Queen]

You’re killing me here, Kaylee!  I’m in the middle of a fast and that looks so damn good!!  

[rvpopeye]

Queen
I hate cheese , so it all cancels out !
You are NOT hungry ,,,,rinse , repeat.