What to do with Macaroni and Cheese?

Now it just so happens that last month Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft Dinner) was on sale at Superstore. $0.69/box when it is usually about double to triple that. Obviously I stocked up because I'm cheap and a sucker for a good deal. Unfortunately I have a whole bunch of KD that I need to do something with.

Now of course I could just make it as per the package directions as both my homestay student and my son will happily eat it without complaint. The problem is that it is fairly high in carbs with little protein or other nutrients. Which means that I should probably make something different with it.

After a quick look through the freezer and cupboards I found that I had some ground beef waiting to be used. I had some frozen mixed vegetables hanging out in the freezer and my pantry had some potatoes and onion. A quick check on ChatGPT and a Cheesy Vegetable Beef Mac n Cheese casserole became my object to try out today.

---

---

It's very simple but I'm a terrible cook

Now for any actual cooks out there I hope you will bear with me. This recipe is simple enough that anyone could cook it. I'm just not a great cook so I make do with what little skill I have.

Let's do the step by step:

First : Let's get some water boiling. Half a pot on high on the largest burner. It will take some time to get up to temperature so start it first.

Second: While the water is heating lets bring out the ingredients we will need.

Two boxes of Kraft Dinner

Roughly 500g of ground beef (frozen)

Now its a frozen brick so into a big pot of cold water it goes. That helps it thaw out much faster and more safely than just leaving it on the counter.

One small onion

That needs to get diced up before it is used.

One cup of mixed frozen vegetables

Now these will never ever get eaten if sitting in the freezer. Best to put them in something to get any value from them :)

Two Medium Potatoes

They need to be thinly sliced (1/8" is great but I didn't measure). I place them in cold water to keep them from going brown.

Butter and Margerine

2tbsp of margerine and 2/3 cup of milk are needed to reconstitute the cheese powder to make cheese sauce.

---

---

Let's get things cooking

Now that the ingredients are all measured out and prepared there are a few steps to get the casserole ready.

First prepare the macaroni and cheese

• boil the macaroni
• drain the macaroni
• prepare the cheese sauce
• add the drained macaroni back in

Second prepare the meat and vegetable

• Brown the hamburger
• Add the onions to saute them with the hamburger
• Add the frozen vegetables and briefly cook to thaw then out
• Add 1 tbsp of chilli powder to give some more flavour

Mix the Meat and Noodles in casserole dish

Top the mix with a layer of potato and top that off with some shredded cheese.

What does that look like? Well, here are the images.

---

---

Prepare the macaroni

Boil the macaroni

I add a little salt to bring out some taste

And some oil to keep it from clumping. Take note I boil / simmer at low medium heat to keep things from boiling over.

Stir occasionally and it should be ready in about 8 minutes.

When the macaroni noodles are "al dente" aka soft time to strain them.

I just let them sit to drain in the sink while I prepare the cheese sauce and the meat mix.

---

---

Time to get the meat and vegetable ready

It starts with getting a frying pan ready at medium heat with a bit of oil in there. I let it heat up for a minute or two so I'm putting the meat onto a hot frying pan. When is it hot enough? I just wait until the oil runs thinly around the pan bottom.

Browning the meat

Now browning the hamburger just means adding heat until the meat goes from red to brown. It is not for cooking but is for adding texture and flavour to the meat.

Add the onions

About halfway through browning the meat I add the onions, Again the goal isn't to cook them thoroughly its to soften them up plus add a bit of flavour to the meat.

Add the frozen vegetables

Not to cook the vegetables but to get them thawed out before cooking

And a bit of taco seasoning to add a bit of flavour (I used 1 tbsp)

---

---

Make the main casserole mix

Time to get the macaroni, the meat mix and the cheese sauce together!

First up: Make the cheese sauce

Very simple. Just take the mix, the margerine and the cheese sauce and mix together at low heat.

After a little stirring

Stir for a minute or two and it will thicken nicely.

Then add the macaroni.

then add the meat mixture

(side note: My son took some of the macaroni before I added the eat...couldn't wait I guess).

Give it a good mix

Then transfer to a casserole dish

Cover with a layer of the potatoes

(and a bit of salt and pepper on the potatoes)

Drizzle with a bit of oil and cover with a little bit of shredded cheese (yum)

Its all ready to place in the over--with the lid on so it doesn't dry out!

45 minutes at 375F

Remember to clean up while things are cooking--Gotta keep the wife happy :)

After 45 minute it is looking cooked. Let cook for another 10-15minutes uncovered to toast things a bit.

Almost ready to eat!

It is all cooked now

However, it is still really hot so I let it stand for a bit then time to give it a taste test.

Sure it looks almost as bad as I do...but it was very tasty. My son had to run to work before he got any and my homestay was full from lunch (maybe) but it's now sitting in the fridge so they can eat it when they are hungry.

Kind of sad that I do the cooking and no-one is around to eat but that's just the way things go in our house.

Thanks for reading through my Creative Sunday post.

Hope you enjoyed it and I would love feedback.

I'm also going to make a shoutout to @foodiesbeehive and @foodiesunite ... I'd like to start writing on the #foodiesbeehive and was wondering if a post like this one would meet the community guidelines. I hope it would but I'd appreciate a little guidance before I start posting in your community. Thanks.