Easy Cheesy Goodness

 

1. Did you just malign one of my favorite comfort foods? Kraft Mac & Cheese? And then proceed to use Velveeta? :-(

   I lived on that back when I was a poor, single, dance teacher. I still keep it around for quick snacks. Sometimes I add a small sautéed onion. Sometimes I crumble in some left-over bacon. But I never forget the soy sauce!

   MMmmm, MMmm, Good!

   Posted by Christopher       02/19/2011  at  09:56 PM  



2. The Velveeta is just there for support. Real cheese costs real money. And a pound and a half of sharp cheddar makes the taste quite sharp. So substitute in 1/2lb of mild cheddar, or some other kind of dry block cheese if you don’t want the Velveeta. Colby I guess. Mozzarella might be too moist

   As far as I recall, the Kraft product comes with an envelope of cheese product powder. In other words, it’s mostly chemicals. Velveeta is an actual cheese, even if it does have a rather plastic texture. It’s better than the powder stuff by far.

   I was going to add bacon, but I’d want about a pound, and we ate the last of it for breakfast. Two packages of Jones breakfast sausages, cooked in advance and then sliced up works as well. You can put in ham chunks or even hot dog slices if you feel like it. Spam, but I’d rinse it first to cut the salt and then fry it. But with some kind of meat added this would be the main course, not a side dish. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

   When I was seriously poor I lived on Ramen, peanut butter, and bananas. I bought the ramen by the case when Costco had it on sale. Kraft Mac ‘n Cheez was a splurge for holidays and special occasions.

   Posted by Drew458       02/19/2011  at  11:07 PM  



3. Yes, real cheese does cost real money.

   Currently I have 10lbs cheddar, 5lbs provolone, and 2lbs Swiss in the fridge. I only know this because I bought the cheese at the local GFS a couple of days ago.

   No Velveeta. No, it’s not actual cheese; it’s like American cheese, a processed cheese food, whatever that means. Probably full of chemicals. But I’ve made it to almost 51-yrs-old with that in my diet.

   (In fact, I would like to point out that food is only a source of chemicals our bodies need. There’s nothing particularly ‘wholesome’ by getting the chemicals you need from ‘natural’ as opposed to ‘man-made’ sources. Our bodies don’t know the difference.)

   Don’t get me wrong, I use American cheese where appropriate; ie: grilled cheese sandwiches. I’ve tried cheddar, swiss, provolone, they just don’t make the cut.

   As for Ramen noodles, yes, I keep them around too. I can always throw some left-over veggies/meat in with Ramen noodles.

   But when I was a poor, struggling dance teacher, Kraft Mac&Cheese was only $0.19/box. A box equaled a meal. Almost. I still had to add butter and milk. There were no Costco stores around then. No Sam’s Club. We didn’t even have a Wal-Mart or Meijer. I shopped at Cub Foods and Kroger.

   Posted by Christopher       02/20/2011  at  12:08 AM  



4. Velveeta… I used to respect you Drew! Well… I guess I still do. I can see it as a binder, I guess.
   I keep those blue boxes around here too. Great for a quick meal (just add tuna and peas) or a snack. “fairly” inexpensive. Tastes better than the store brands, and it actually does contain some cheese!
   The noodles are basic noodles. Hard to screw those up..

   Ramen? I keep those around for quick snacks myself. If I feel extravagant, I add some butter, (Not Margarine, never margarine, Oleo is for cooking)some minced garlic, Parmesan cheese and a little of the flavor packet that comes with them. They are also good with leftover pork roast that has been reheated.
   I’m surprised I can stand them. I lived on ramen for 6 months a while back.

   BTW, I use American ‘cheese’ or Velveeta for quick grilled cheese, however, I also make cheddar and mozzarella grilled cheese on occasion. The moz alleviates enough of the cheddar sharpness and they compliment each other. Just have to watch the griddle and put a couple of thin pats of butter between the bread and the cheese.

   Posted by Doctor DETH       02/20/2011  at  05:14 AM  



5. Wow - talk about a catch 22 - Velveeta - I thought the same thing - but have also used Veleeta. I hear a tablespoon of flour added to real melting Cheddar makes the diff - but have to admit - when it comes to smooth melt - Velveeta is the winner (Make a kiiler dip - meal in itself - chopped and browned onion, add hamburger and then glue it together with Velveeta - Yum)

   I too like Christopher prefer American (we use 2% Sharp Cheddar) for grilled cheese and yes - I admit it - we have the last of a blue box in the cabinet. To use it now - I add milk & butter - but for the young adult kids still living here - it was/is a go-to lunch. I have a disabled guy who needs to be able to microwave something to eat - or else I have to ‘cook’ for him - Mac n Cheese wins.

   Now the youngest has gone Gluten Free - the mix available here is very weak tasting - so again I add milk, butter and some shredded cheddar.

   For some reason I love mac & cheese but won’t do bread crumbs in it - I have a very unhealthy (according to all the fat nazis out there) recipe that is just pure cheese and butter - even has too much butter for me - but it is yummy and does top it with breadcrumbs (and more butter).

   I just can’t get my picky eaters to eat much any more - and I hate wasting food - so I just cook meat and potatoes and then wait until the boredom sets in - of course pretty soon without a paycheck it will be beans and rice - then I really will hear the complaints roll in.

   It was 64 degrees on Friday - it is snowing/sleeting right now - I think I’ll go back to bed!

   Posted by wardmama4       02/20/2011  at  10:19 AM  



6. A superb recipe.  Tried it today.  It got 3 thumbs up and 3 massive tail wags around the table.  You motivated me to post one of my favorite recipes - chili .  If you want to try it and critique, please by all means do so.  It’s taken me several years of experimentation to come up with the recipe.

   Posted by GW       02/20/2011  at  02:45 PM  



7. Why thank you GW, that was very kind. And I’m glad somebody tries some of these recipes that I post. I don’t just pull stuff from a book just to have something to write about. I’ve tried them, and I only put up the ones that I think are really good. Granted that my taste in chili runs to the very very rich and rather hot.

   I hope that you made enough to last for a couple of days. Like a good lasagna, this dish gets better after a couple days.

   Posted by Drew458       02/22/2011  at  08:17 AM  

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