I had a Beecher’s mac & cheese grilled cheese sandwich a couple of months ago, and while it’s not something I’d eat more than once a year or so, it was pretty damn good.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ve not tried their grilled cheese.
It was the carb-iest thing I’d had in months, and I was both thrilled and deeply remorseful.
I know this is off topic technically, but when I want mac and cheese I often make cacio e pepe with bucatini.
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Growing up on traditional Chinese food, mac and cheese was only stuff I would see in the school lunch or cafeteria. I would have a box or two on hand for desperate times during college. I’ve tried Krafts, and while it’s familiar, that’s about all I can say about it. The only other kind of tried is the Annie’s and it is vastly superior to the Krafts, IMO. I cooked mac and cheese from scratch once, and you have make such a big batch of it t that I had to eat mac and cheese for dinner and lunch like 3 days straight. That’s a no-can-do for my arteries. If I get a craving, I will order it at a restaurant or run for a box of Annie’s.
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I may buy it in the next few days if one of the supermarkets I use still sells it. “World’s Best” frozen mac & cheese strikes me as amusing, but that type of marketing is daring me to try it.
And I was enticed by the long line of people waiting for a serving of it at their store. But the real deal didn’t look like your photo… I guess like a big mac irl neverl looks like a big mac on a billboard.
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“Customer’s” tell us.
But it does look nice in the picture!
When I was a wee one, Mother made the mac and cheese with white sauce, medium cheddar and elbows, topped with buttered Wonderbread croutons topped with even more cheese and baked. I didn’t like it baked so she let me eat it ‘slurpy’. Very comforting. It was the entree and we had it with a sliced tomato side salad (sliced tomato, basil ribbons, s&p and a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of wine vinegar—this was sixty yeas ago!) or a green salad. I like to make it with small shell pasta, sharp or xsharp cheddar, a smashed garlic clove and a shot of Tabasco or shiracha. I don’t usually bake it but sometimes I’ll top with with sauteéd sourdough cubes and crumbs and more sharp cheddar. It is even better reheated the next day. The boxed ‘crap and cheese’ is great for backpacking, or it was BITD. I’ve seen something called ‘chedeese’, the orange powdered product like in the box sold in some stores. So come July 14 you may celebrate National Mac & Cheese Day any way you’d like!
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Here’s a fav for mac 'n cheese…
Saute onions and garlic in butter, then make a roux from it, add milk, grated Cheddar and Gruyère, and finish with a splash of sherry (seasoning to taste with S&P).
Stir some good tuna into cooked mac and combine with cheese sauce (steamed broccoli is also a nice addition). Top with bread crumbs, parmesan, and paprika and pop under broiler or toaster oven for a few minutes. Add chopped Italian parsley or chives and yum.
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I have fond memories of Kraft and its store brand brethern as quick meals when I was in college or recently moved out of the house. It is a good base for adding ground beef, canned beans, and/or salsa and more cheese. There’s a reason kids love it. @Olunia - if you are looking for similar, I hear good things about the Annie’s brand version.
Growing up, my mom didn’t really make mac and cheese, but she would melt Velveeta and toss it with thin spaghetti and browned ground beef for us once in a while. This was before Velveeta and Shells was a marketed thing.
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Up here in Canada, the Kraft Mac & Cheese is called Kraft Dinner or KD, and it’s seen as a comfort food for all ages. Lots of cultural references to it.
When I was a kid, if my parents were going out and had hired a babysitter, my dinner was Kraft Dinner, Alphaghetti/ Zoodles or occasionally a Swason turkey or fried chicken HungryMan dinner (foil tray)
Students stock up on it here, but a lot of GenX and Boomers probably still eat it once a month, or more.
It has its own Twitter handle. 
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Young Jaques’ all-the-miklk-at-once method works a treat if you love whisking:
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Thanks Amanda, I do like the Annie’s and the boys prefer the KD. Since, I do the shopping and pick up Annie’s when available. It was the first one to sell out during the Pandemic.
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This is something that my mother would make. The only prepared boxed food in her house was Quaker Oats or jello.
I haven’t tried this method thanks for posting it will make a nice Mother’s Day brunch.
You may know this stuff exists price gone up during pandemic but it’s familiar flavor.
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Does anyone make the old-fashioned non-white sauce kind? Simply cooked elbows, rich milk, cheddar, s and p, baked in a heavily buttered casserole until milk is absorbed, the top is a golden brown mix of cheese and milk skin. Tarted up version here.
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I have and like the simplicity of the recipe.
I’ve never made it using a roux to make Béchamel and it will l be fun to try that version too.
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The non-roux version is a different animal from the cream-sauce kind. Both delicious, just different textures and possibly flavor nuances. I grew up on non-roux, made it exclusively until last 5 years or so when I started making the faster version for grand-kids. It takes a long time for the milk only version to cook down while baking, while the roux version is edible even before baking.
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I used to make that kind on occasion, but more often with eggs and evaporated milk.
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