Doctored Box Mac and Cheese_the Way I Do It

Submitted by Tiomarrano

"There are a ton of variations on doctoring box type mac and cheese mixes. Here's mine and everyone I try it on seems to like it"

 

• Ready In: 15mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 212.62 g package Kraft macaroni and cheese (or other brand)
• 295.73 ml milk (more or less as needed)
• 56.69 g margarine (1/2 stick) or 56.69 g butter (1/2 stick)
• 56.69 g kraft style process cheese (about 3-4 regular size slices)
• 1 egg (medium size) (optional)
• 29.58 ml parmesan cheese (or other very sharp cheese like bleu cheese, to taste)
• 2.46 ml salt
• 4.92 ml granulated garlic (or to taste)
• 3 garlic cloves (fresh, minced)
• 0.26 ml sriracha Asian chili sauce (optional -- don't use if you don't like heat in your mac and cheese sauce)

directions

1. Prepare boxed macaroni and cheese as per instructions.
2. Boil macaroni.
3. Have other ingredients made and handy: milk, process cheese slices, margarine or butter and any optional hot sauce or granulated garlic.
4. When macaroni is done, immediately drain off hot water.
5. Pour hot macaroni out of the sieve back into same sauce pan.
6. Set stove heat at medium high.
7. Set saucepan with hot drained macaroni back on hot burner and mix in the margarine or butter that has been premeasured.
8. Stir the margarine or butter into the macaroni until melted (keeping sauce pan on heat).
9. Stir in the packet from the box macaroni and cheese as best you can.
10. Begin adding a little milk at at time as you stir the packet's cheese powder into the hot macaroni and butter -- add some but not too much milk at a time.
11. Keep stirring the mac and cheese until it is thoroughly mixed.
12. Crack the egg into the hot mac and cheese just made from the box and keep stirring so egg won't coagulate and will mix into the mac and cheese that is bubbling.
13. Add a little milk as needed to keep it from being too thick and sticking to pan but don't overdo the milk. Use a little at a time or it will dilute the cheese flavor if you use too much milk.
14. Put in the 3-4 process cheese slices. It helps if you have them pre cut into smaller pieces beforehand so the process cheese will melt in faster as you keep stirring constantly over medium heat.
15. Now add the parmesan cheese, stirring it into the mac and cheese. You may need to add a little more milk if needed to keep it from getting too thick and sticking. Don't add too much parmesan and not more milk than absolutely necessary to keep the sauce the right consistency. Parmesan (or whatever other cheese you use) should be sparing yet enough to sharpen the existing process cheese flavor.
16. At very last minute (so garlic doesn't lose its flavor), add optional fresh minced garlic plus also the garlic powder. Stir into the sauce until mixed throughout.
17. You can stop here and adjust salt and pepper as desired and serve.
18. Or, if you want a spicier variation on regular macaroni and cheese, you can do the following: At the very last add optional Sri Racha if desired and stir into mac and cheese.
19. Enjoy.
20. This simple but pretty gooey and good, boxed macaroni and cheese

21. NOTE: You can also add the following items optional modifications to your mac and cheese as per your taste:

22. EXTRA CHEESE to supplement process cheese slices: e.g. Mexican style velveeta jack, bleu cheese, pepper jack (gives it a smoky flavor) gorgonzola cheese, cream cheese,gryuere, pecorino, fontina cheese any you have around, even mozzarella.
23. OTHER ADDITIONS.
24. Ham.
25. Ground beef.
26. Hot dogs.

Reviews

[Fritz G.]

I made mac and cheese from a box this morning. I added a little hemp oil and a 1/4 teaspoon of Japanese Scallop powder to the standard recipe. Also I cut up and added 2 slices of sandwich ham in about 1/2 inch squares. I broke an egg into the bowl, mixed it up and did 2.5 minutes in the microwave. The egg was an experiment and I think it worked well, but next time I want to try two eggs.