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.
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.
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.
That needs to get diced up before it is used.
Now these will never ever get eaten if sitting in the freezer. Best to put them in something to get any value from them :)
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.
2tbsp of margerine and 2/3 cup of milk are needed to reconstitute the cheese powder to make cheese sauce.
Now that the ingredients are all measured out and prepared there are a few steps to get the casserole ready.
What does that look like? Well, here are the images.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Not to cook the vegetables but to get them thawed out before cooking
First up: Make the cheese sauce
Very simple. Just take the mix, the margerine and the cheese sauce and mix together at low heat.
(and a bit of salt and pepper on the potatoes)
45 minutes at 375F
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 
