Churched Up Boxed Mac & Cheese
Sometimes a home cooked family meal is just not going to happen, despite the best of intentions. So do we order take out? Well of course not! Mr. Sense’s pride doesn’t allow for most store prepared foods, but he enjoys tinkering with kid-friendly classics. Check out his churched up version of boxed mac and cheese, for those nights when no one remembered we needed groceries until 7:00pm.
Ingredients:
1 box store brand mac and cheese
1-2 tbsp butter
~½ cup milk
1-2 tbsp cream cheese
¼ cup cheddar cheese
½ tsp brown mustard (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Make pasta, strain, and set aside.
In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat, then pour in the cheese packet. Combine well; it will be gritty but moist.
Pour the milk in slowly, whisking until combined.
Let the mixture heat up, whisking frequently, until the texture starts to resemble pancake batter.
Add additional cheeses and mustard and continue whisking until you have a uniform cheese sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste as you go.
Add the pasta back into the pot and combine. If the cheese sauce is too thick, add a little more milk.
Enjoy!
Notes from Mr. Sense:
Aldi and Wal-Mart brand boxed mac and cheese may fall short in quality compared to Kraft, but it’s hard to beat 50 cents for a meal that serves three (or one very hungry person!)
The general idea for this recipe came from my from-scratch mac and cheese recipe. I start my cheese sauce with a simple bechamel sauce, a French base made by combining melted butter, flour, and milk. I figured, why not try to use the cheese dust packet as a substitute for flour and see if we can’t make something a little tastier than just boxed stuff?
So here we make a “bechamel” with butter, cheese dust, and milk, then add some additional cheese for flavor and texture. While I originally turned up my nose at the idea of creamed cheese in mac and cheese, it delivers such a delightfully creamy texture. The mustard also gave me pause at first, but while not essential I rarely make mac and cheese without it anymore. I would not recommend substituting yellow mustard, but that may just be my taste. Sour cream can stand in for cream cheese, sacrificing some of the creaminess for a delightful tang.
