Food & Drink Dec 10, 2014 at 4:00 am

I Ate 10 Boxes of Macaroni and Cheese in Two Days, All in the Name of Journalism

Comments

1
Rachel, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but try a little Secret Aardvark sauce (check QFC) on your Kraft Dinner.
2
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate bowl melt your butter in your milk, and whisk in the cheese powder. Pour it over your pasta once you've drained it. Never hit one of those dry cheese powder bombs again. You're welcome.
3
Feeling hard pressed to believe anything here occurred "in the name of journalism."
4
Always grate in extra-sharp cheddar cheese. A LOT of it. A little extra milk, a little extra butter.
5
You're my hero.
6
I've never had a homemade mac-n-cheese that was better than the Annie's White Cheddar. Sorry home cooks, but sometimes the machines make things better than you.
7
The perfect no-effort comfort food. Goes well with blanket and couch, post snow-shoveling, plus most cats will lick clean the spoon and pot.
8
My three year old will eat a whole pot of Annie's or Kraft. So will my 36 year old husband. To really take it to a sad and beautiful level, mix in cream of mushroom, peas, and tuna. I basically ate that for my entire freshman year of college.
9
The microwavable individual servings of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese are one of the great inventions of the 21st century.
10
Annie's does a gluten-free?



And here I thought I'd never, ever, ever again...



To hell with the lactose intolerance -- I'm in!
11
Pro-tip: Take some of the aforementioned sour cream and add it to the Kraft M&C to add extra body and tang.

Its heaven.
12
Regarding mix-ins: I like the boost of spicy heat and add chopped peppadew peppers
13
There's no better late night drunk food than Annie's White Shells and Cheddar mixed with a can of Amy's Spicy Veggie Chili and a couple of dashes of Dave's Insanity Sauce with lots of fresh ground pepper.
14
When I crave a box of Mac & Cheese, I throw in a can of heated stewed tomatoes.
15
@13: That sounds fantastic and noted for the next drunken adventure.
16
You've put the pasta in the water, and then determined you have no butter or milk. Once you know the answer to that problem, you can venture into white people problems (i.e., pasta shape etc)
17
My kids prefer Annie's Shells and Real Aged Cheddar.
18
If I have both in the cupboard it is Chili Mac.. Box of Kraft M&C plus a can of Nalley's Chili.. Add hot sauce to taste.
19
No Tuna Mac or Chili Mac? Those were staples for a very long time.
20
#1: I know and love it well. But have never used it on Mac'n' cheese before. I will need to venture out of Tapatio territory.





#2: I'm a rebel and ONLY use butter. I think the milk makes it too soupy. I like my mac THICK and creamy.





#4: Yes!





#11: I hereby nominate you for a Stranger Genius Award.
21
So in other words, pot really is legal in Washington.
22
Everybody knows that shells are the best macaroni shape. Some of them catch the cheese powder and make super-cheesy flavor nugs.
23
Use light cream aka half n half (rather than milk and butter). Use a lot. Warm the cream and whisk in the cheese powder while the pasta is cooking. Cook for a while and it will thicken. Then add a pile of shredded cheese and the drained cooked pasta. That's the ticket.
24
@19 - I learned that in college as "Tuna Fuck."
25
I stand by Annie's White Cheddar as the very best boxed mac'n'cheese, and I've tried just about all of them (I'm a single dude living on a budget...)



It's always important to spice that shit up with something extra. Start with the butter and milk, but before you add the powdered goodness, throw anything else you want in. It blends much easier without the powdered cheese. I typically add some other cheese to the mix, and then whatever else I happen to have around that sounds good. Diced jalapenos are good. I actually made a bowl today and added some parmesean, some gorgonzola left over from last night's dinner, some garlic, and some garlic. It was delish.


26
If you're going for plain mac, use sour cream in the same volume as the butter plus the milk (and add neither of those) - it's better tasting and lower fat. Plain yogurt is also superior to milk and butter, and even healthier than sour cream, but not quite as good. Both options give the sauce a lot more tang and body. We also like to add in a little real cheese, but not too much.



If you are going WAY over-the-top with it: fry some bacon in a large saucepan, take the bacon out and add chopped onions and minced garlic to fry in the bacon grease. When the onions and garlic are cooked, add a can of black beans, a little can of mushrooms, a can of diced tomatoes, and maybe a leaf like kale or spinach if you're feeling it (add a lot if you do because it cooks down to nothing). Stir in about 3 ounces of grated cheese of your choice. Stir in the cheese powder and sour cream/yogurt from the original mac recipe, plus tbsp each of cooking sherry and basil, tsp of thyme, and maybe a dash of sage or minced rosemary. And then stir in the noodles when they are done and strained. You can substitute costco salmon patties or ham slices for the bacon/grease if you want to feel like you didn't just brick up your arteries for good - each one is different but almost as good as bacon. Vegetarians just skip step one and use a tbsp olive oil to fry the onions/garlic. Last note: this dish looks terrible (the black beans turn everything gray) but it tastes great. Using white or kidney or pinto beans would look nicer, but I've never tried it with them, as I generally like the flavor of black beans best and always have them on hand.
27
Y'all have been missing out on the best secret of all: buy two blue boxes, open both, toss all the macaroni from one box, use two packets for one box of noodles. Fucking hard to come back from the edge once you've been on the other side of salty sinning.



@2: you're admitting that you can't make Mac n Cheese correctly? It's called stirring.
28
Well, the screaming yellow squirts must be amusing.

Yes, I make my own Mac&Cheese.

It doesn't take me any longer than it would to do the box, but I am a picky Git.

Add ins: Little Smokies, and Sriracha.
29
Brief notes:



(1) Kraft Mac & Cheese is great with Jimmy Dean brand sausage, or pretty much any bacon you would otherwise eat.



(2) If one chooses to delve into the mysterious world of "homemade" mac & cheese, be prepared to spend the rest of your mac & cheese life making the stuff, because if you get it remotely right, nobody you know will ever want to go back.



― I would be remiss to mention that I should have known this; a friend once demonstrated that those pasta pots with the drainage drilled into the screw-on lids are perfect for making popcorn on a gas range. I did that once for friends, and now instead of learning to do it themselves, they want me to make popcorn for them whenever they're around. Not that I would complain; real popcorn made with corn oil and topped with real butter will make you wonder why you ever ate the microwave stuff. Same thing with real mac & cheese made with real cheese.
30
Kraft blue box.

One can tuna (Trader Joe's Yellowfin is good).

One cup frozen peas.
31
Add kimchi! Enjoy life.
33
Annie's green box (alfredo), add chopped broccoli in with the pasta about 5 minutes before it is done boiling, prepare as normal, then grate some extra pepper jack into it and stir.

I know what I am having for breakfast now.
34
soo glad my daughter is out of her mac n cheese phase. The s*** is annoying.

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