In My Mother's Kitchen: Macaroni & Cheese
I never had macaroni & cheese growing up. Or to be more precise, I never had Kraft Macaroni & Cheese made exactly as it is listed on the box. Unbeknownst to me, my mother was doctoring the recipe up to make it much tastier. I'm not talking about making some rich over the top mac & cheese using custom ingredients, but instead adding a few things to the base Kraft mac & cheese to make it better than it would be otherwise, as well as to make more food than one package would otherwise provide. As a result, I've never made an undoctored kit myself, although I've made some minor modifications to the doctoring ingredients.
Doctored Macaroni & Cheese
1 box of Kraft Mac & Cheese (about 1 1/2 cups macaroni + cheese packet)
1 1/2 cups loose macaroni
1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound cheddar cheese
1. Cook macaroni per package directions.
2. Add milk and powdered cheese and stir well.
3. Add cheddar cheese and stir until cheese melts and coats macaroni.
My mother specifically used an 8 ounce container of spreadable cheddar, with some Kraft singles thrown on top and melted to boot. I just use shredded cheddar, which melts faster and is easier to work with. The end result is pretty similar. Either way, it was virtually always served with peas and tuna fish.
I didn't learn that doctoring mac & cheese wasn't typical until I was in charge of the food for a Boy Scout event some time in junior high. Mom had helped me throw together an ingredient list for mac & cheese using the doctored instructions, and whichever parent was taking us shopping pointed out we could save some money by just following the package directions instead, and that most kids wouldn't know the difference.
As previously established, my mother was not opposed to using processed food kits when she could find them on sale. Macaroni & Cheese was joined by stuffing and au gratin potatoes as the three most common kits of my childhood. At this point in my life mac & cheese is the only one I use with any regularity, although when I was first getting started with cooking I did make the Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice pretty often.
Doctored Macaroni & Cheese
1 box of Kraft Mac & Cheese (about 1 1/2 cups macaroni + cheese packet)
1 1/2 cups loose macaroni
1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound cheddar cheese
1. Cook macaroni per package directions.
2. Add milk and powdered cheese and stir well.
3. Add cheddar cheese and stir until cheese melts and coats macaroni.
My mother specifically used an 8 ounce container of spreadable cheddar, with some Kraft singles thrown on top and melted to boot. I just use shredded cheddar, which melts faster and is easier to work with. The end result is pretty similar. Either way, it was virtually always served with peas and tuna fish.
I didn't learn that doctoring mac & cheese wasn't typical until I was in charge of the food for a Boy Scout event some time in junior high. Mom had helped me throw together an ingredient list for mac & cheese using the doctored instructions, and whichever parent was taking us shopping pointed out we could save some money by just following the package directions instead, and that most kids wouldn't know the difference.
As previously established, my mother was not opposed to using processed food kits when she could find them on sale. Macaroni & Cheese was joined by stuffing and au gratin potatoes as the three most common kits of my childhood. At this point in my life mac & cheese is the only one I use with any regularity, although when I was first getting started with cooking I did make the Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice pretty often.