Sunday, November 17, 2013

DIY Basic Cooking I Mac n Cheese

I made this last night so I know this recipe works.  This is one serving.

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup macaroni
2 ounces American cheese
a little black pepper

Put the water in your saucepan that you used to boil the eggs last time.  Get it boiling.
Turn the heat down to 3
Put in your macaroni, cover, and cook 5 minutes.
Put in the milk.
Rip the cheese up, the size of the pieces is up to you but not larger than 1/4 a slice.
The milk should be hot.
Put the cheese in.
Sprinkle the pepper in.
Stir 3-4 times.
Put the lid back on.
Turn the heat to 2 1/2.
Let it cook 3 minutes.
Open the lid and see if the sauce is pale yellow and most of the cheese melted into it.
Stir half a dozen times, the sauce should start to thicken.
Put the lid on, turn the burner OFF and let sit 3 minutes.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE
1.  With all pasta and rice, turn off when it's just barely underdone and let sit covered 3 minutes.  The lid will keep it from getting cold and the warmth will finish the cooking, plus it will absorb the rest of the liquid and not stick to the bottom of the pan when you serve.
2.  The same thing is true for cheese and tomato sauces, which are next to impossible to get off the pan if they burn on.
3.  You can make this with just water if you don't have milk but the milk makes it creamier.

I almost always spice this up with onion powder and garlic powder and usually a tiny pinch of cayenne.  DON'T USE GARLIC SALT OR ONION SALT.  We get too much salt and there's salt in the cheese. 
I usually throw in some baby green peas, too. There are a lot of ways to sneak vegetables into your food and this is one of them.

With one pound (1 box) of macaroni, one pound of cheese, and 1 quart of milk, you can make 8 servings of mac n cheese.  It will cost you about $6. 

You will spend that much on one box of pre-made mac n cheese for 2 servings and get lots of chemicals, more salt, and more fat.  A famous maker of commercial mac n cheese had a scare this year about dye used in its food.  Take some control of what you put in your body!!!

© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights Reserved

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