Foodie Friday : Improve Boxed Mac-n-Cheese. Is that possible?

Anybody who loves their macaroni and cheese would rather be thrown into a cage with starving lions than eat that boxed mac-n-cheese!! UUUGGG!!! YUK!!!

OK. Being tossed into a cage with starving lions is a bit of an exaggeration. But how many of you have ever had a choice between making your own macaroni and cheese or using the mac-n-cheese in a box and said: “Oh yes! Gimme that box stuff! I love it!”

Saw a headline (below) about “hacking your mac”.

• Hack your mac: 13 simple ways to make boxed mac and cheese even better

Well since it was in the food section, figured it wasn't about a Mac computer, so it had to be about macaroni!  13 ways to make boxed macaroni and cheese taste even better? Well!  Everybody has their own tastes, don't they?  In my humble opinion, speaking as a non-chef or non-official food person in any way, a newbie learning to cook might want to test these ways using the box.  If the end results pass muster, they can adapt some of these ideas and add a twist to a real tried and true homemade recipe.

My tried and true homemade recipe?

Prepare 1 lb of elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

Pour drained macaroni into a casserole dish. While the pasta is still hot, mix in the following ingredients in this order.

• 1 lb of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can of evaporated milk

Once all ingredients are thoroughly combined, sprinkle more shredded cheddar cheese on top. (As much as you want.)

Bake in a preheated oven to 350 degrees F., for about 30 minutes.

This is how my late mother taught me and was really surprised when watching TV chef Paula Deen's cooking show one day and noticed that she prepared hers the same way. (I varied my mom's recipe a little by adding in chopped onions and bell peppers.)

Other Mac-n-Cheese Variations

Foodie Friday : Raw Milk Cheese (Americans are Missing Out!)

I don't have a recipe to share for Foodie Friday. Just a link to an interesting article about a food history topic that sheds light on the raw milk cheese that apparently Americans are apparently missing out on enjoying.

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT CHEESE IS A LIE

Americans have never had access to the cheese they deserve.

Basically the article says that most Americans don't know what real cheese taste like because they've never had any. There is some truth to the article. That's IF you define cheese that is only made from pasteurized milk as “bogus cheese”. ☺

According to the article, “real cheese” or rather “really good tasting cheese” is made from unpasteurized milk and that Americans are regulating cheese imports based on a law enacted because a health scare 80 years ago.  You won't hear any Europeans complaining because "Hey!  More good cheese for them!"  I wonder, since the Chinese have started consuming more diary products, if they are also enjoying this good real cheese.


Per Mark Hay, the article writer:

“In 1944, the federal government, ... concerned by the number of outbreaks, recommended that all cheese be made from pasteurized milk or that raw milk cheeses be aged sufficiently to let nasty germs in it die off.”

“Regardless of the merits of the rule at the time, no one bothered to review it until the late 1980s.”

“Meanwhile, Europe has developed rules that accommodate all manner of raw milk cheese but still keep people relatively safe, broadly working with existing traditions to find steps at which hygiene can be monitored and ensured.”

“In 1985, America suffered one of its greatest modern foodborne illness outbreaks, which killed over two-dozen people, ten of them infants. It was traced to a cheese plant using raw milk. … But after the 1985 incident, calls emerged to ban all raw milk cheese.”

Other significant cheese incidents occurred after 1985. Check the article for additional details.

Pretty much the article concludes:

Americans! You don't know what you're missing!
YUM! YUM!

Using Mr. Hay's exact words:
“It’s just shocking to realize how much of America’s food ecosystem, and ultimately of our palates as Americans, were locked into place decades ago by chance forces and best-guess science. But that’s how one winds up in a nation where it is, and likely will for some time be, easier to get an assault rifle than a wheel of OG French Camembert.”

Ouch!  That part about the assault rifle really hurt.  I am heart broken. I always considered myself a cheese lover. Only to find out that all this time I haven't been eating real cheese.  😢😢


The article writer has convinced me that perhaps America does need to revisit and maybe revise the raw milk cheese importing regulations. After all, there are people in other countries around the world enjoying these cheeses made from unpasteurized milk and they aren't dropping like flies. 

I'm definitely curious now as to what I've been missing all my life. Are you?

Related articles

• We'll go somewhere there's cheese, Gromit!(telegraph.co.uk)

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• Manitoba's last Trappist cheese-making monk finds a pupil for his 300-year-old secret recipe(nationalpost.com)

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Foodie Friday: Chicken Bites for Family Movie Night or Game Night

In the USA, especially during football season, people like to get together in homes and watch the game on TV. One of the best things about these gatherings is THE FOOD!! 

These recipes would be perfect for Game Day (or Night)!

All of these recipes use chicken breasts but I prefer chicken thighs.

5 Fast and Easy Chicken Bite Recipes

1. Buffalo Chicken Bites
2. Creamy Parmesan Chicken Bites
3. Honey Dijon Chicken Bites
4. Indian-Spiced Chicken Bites
5. Taco Chicken Bites

P.S. It doesn't have to be football. Create your own tradition. Dedicate one night to connect with family and friends.

Here are the 7 reasons every family should start a game night right now

Food Blog Spotlight: A Cook @ Heart: A basket (cake) of flowers! (Reblog)

I started publishing this blog in 2016. As of May 2020, seven (7) of my posts are specifically related to cakes. (See below.)  I am always looking for cakes. Not only are they a delicious and luscious dessert but many times they are works of art. You almost don't want to eat them. Fortunately, many people take photographs of their artistic culinary creations BEFORE they are devoured. 

My search for fellow food bloggers on the Blogspot blog publishing platform led me to this post. A Cook @ Heart: A basket (cake) of flowers!  Isn't this cake gorgeous?!!  You can tell by the comments left at this post that the blog visitors were ecstatic!!

This wonderful blog's posts archive dates back to 2006.  You could spend months exploring the content.  OR ... just use the handy Recipe Index and search for cake!  ☺❤🎂

Cake Posts at Food Ways:

"Baumkuchen", tasty and historic German cake | Recipes via Foodal

Box Cake Mix or Cake From Scratch -Throw Down!

Custom Cakes by Rainbow Nourishments(Raw Vegan Cake Maker)

Honey Chai Cake Recipe | Arabic Food(Reblog)

Let "em Eat Cake! Cake Loving Finds on My Instagram

Michelle Wibowo's Sugar Art Is MoreThan Precious!

Which Countries or Cultures Make theBest Cakes? Let's Discuss!

glitter-graphics.com

Recipe Sharing: My Foodie Luv

Thank you for supporting my foodie blog. Just so you know ... I am active in various other social communities around the web and often share recipes there too. Foodies are everywhere!  One of those communities is called Noise.Cash; and I created a channel there called Recipe Sharing: My Foodie Luv.  Here is a sample of the recipes shared there that I am sure you will enjoy.

Bacon & Fruit Brunch Kabobs

10 Things … About Japanese Food

Blackberry Salsa Recipe

Chicken Bite Recipes

Chocolate-Dipped Ice Cream Tacos

Cool Summer Salads

Friesor Chips?

Fuyu Persimmon Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu

Gulab Jamun Shrikhand Bowls

Healthy appetizers

Japanese Sauces

Korean Barbecue Party

Kunafeh, Middle East's Fave Cheese Delight

Mango Lassi Popsicles

Mediterranean Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad

Mexican Recipes

Non-AlcoholicMango Mojito

Pink Peppercorn-Viola Shortbread

Puff Pastry Apricot Blueberry Tart

Refreshing Yellow Watermelon

Roasted Cranberry & Brie Grilled Cheese

Scorzonera or Black Salsify

SuperfoodsFor a Healthy Mood

TAHOIS MADE WITH TOFU

Tapas originated in Spain

Diet and Nutrition: Yet Another Article About Weight Loss

No doubt you have read these or heard them before, but you know what psychologist say about reinforcement. “... reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus.” (Source)

Here is Some Reinforced Advice to Lose Weight:


Number 1: Weight Loss and Fitness Tips

GQ INDIA published these easy tips, diet hacks and workout routines in the Live Well Section of their online publication tiir. These should help you get started. Intermittent fasting, walking, yoga, and sleeping better are recommended. You should avoid binge-eating but you can swap it with something called “cheat meals”. (Really?)

Easy Weight Loss Tips, Diet Hacks, and Workout Routines

 

Number 2: Mediterranean Diet? Why not?

Researchers confirm that the main health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet is that it protects against heart diseases. Applying my logic, I say that since everybody has a heart, the Mediterranean Diet must be good for everybody!

Proven Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Number 3: Counting Calories, Etc. OK!

Yes dieting requires discipline and you have to be diligent in watching what you eat. You might have to count calories. Yeah! It's not like we didn't know that already! But we have to be told because psychologists say humans respond well to clear direction and positive reinforcement in order to push through anything that takes effort. Dieting definitely takes effort! Do you know how to count calories?

Calorie Counting Dos and Donts

 

Number 4: We All Know SOUP is Good Food!

My first year at university, I loved to hang out with my friends and eat pizza. Lots and lots of pizza! Needless to say I packed on the pounds! I had to come up with a meal that nutritious and filling. Did you know that a bowl of soup can do the trick? Especially if it's a detox soup. Here are 4 Detox Soup Recipes that melt belly fat because they boost metabolism.

Four (4) Life-Changing Detox Soup Recipes

 

Number 5: Take It Off and Keep It Off! Here’s  How.

Many of us reach our weight loss goals only to gain back the weight. Why? Because we did not maintain the healthy eating and dieting habits we used to lose the weight. How do we take it off and keep it off? Simple. You should “focus on identifying which foods nourish your body and give you the proper fuel you need to live a great life”.

How to Eat Better and Master Your Nutrition 

Hope you found this content useful.

Original content source

My Favorite Fun Food: Pudding!

Hello!  Thank you so much for visiting my foodie blog.  Was it the word "pudding" that tempted you here?  LOL.  Food Ways is just one of the places on the web where I publish or have published content about my love for food.    

Virily.com is a social blogging community and I have published content there on a wide range of topics.  One of those topics is food!  One of my favorite post series is called "Irresistible Fun Food".  I shared about 20 posts in this series.  Sharing a link to my post about pudding.  Enjoy!

Pudding goes on my list for fun food, thanks to Jell-O’s creation of instant pudding.  In my circles, mention pudding and folks just want to know if they’re being offered banana pudding or chocolate pudding.  No surprise that if you search for pudding recipes on Twitter, the first few recipes that pop up are banana and chocolate.

After that, there is rice pudding or bread pudding.  The recipes for these are not instant.  I will admit that I was never a fan of old-fashioned rice pudding but the way the Indians make it gave me second thoughts.  I do like the old-fashioned bread pudding because my mom used to bake it with old bread and raisins.  It was very filling.

These are the common puddings (or rather the puddings that I know about). When it comes to pudding there are some cooks or chefs who use ingredients that never crossed my mind like persimmon or tiramisu.

♦  Click through to continue reading and view additional content:

Irresistible Fun Food: Pudding

Food Blurb: Who Invented Chicken Nuggets?

FUN FOOD HISTORY ~ DID YOU KNOW:

~ Chicken nuggets were invented by Robert C. Baker, a poultry and food science professor at Cornell University.

~ Before Mr. Baker invented chicken nuggets, he invented a fun food called the chicken stick! Evidently, the guy liked experimenting to find creative ways to eat chicken. He is called the "George Washington Carver of Chicken."

~ In 1981, the McDonald's corporation, affectionately known as Mickey D, officially introduced Chicken McNuggets to their customers. McNuggets comprise about 10 percent of the restaurant’s sales.

~ Mr. Baker did not make a dime from the profits Mickey D earned from sales of Chicken McNuggets. I mean … Really?

Who Invented Chicken Nuggets? | Mental Floss