Saturday food at our house is highly unpredictable. Sometimes I go all out and fix something fun for breakfast. And other days, it's a stretch to find something suitable to throw on the table. That's what made this discovery especially rewarding.
Lunch time can be especially challenging because it's so tempting to just pick up fast food and be done with it. That, however, is not so good for our waistlines or wallet. During the week we eat mostly dinner leftovers, but that's not as easy to do when three of us are sitting down together. In which case, I often end up at Saturdays around 11:15 staring down an open refrigerator or cupboard trying like all get out to come up with something to eat. It doesn't have to be fancy, but I do want to prepare something tasty and quick.
This week was the usual standing in front of the fridge, looking over the leftovers, the sandwich fixings, and whatever else was lingering, trying to figure out what to make. I finally decided on macaroni and cheese, the kind in the blue box, and in Madagascar 2 shapes, no less. I'm fine with plain ole mac and cheese, but today I decided to see if I could up the game a little.
It turns out I was able to lay my hands on all the ingredients for loaded baked potatoes, but decided instead to make loaded mac and cheese. During the last eight minutes, or so, of cooking time for the pasta, I added some fresh broccoli florets. When the pasta was done cooking and drained, I added in the cheese powder, a generous tablespoon of butter, about a half cup of fat-free cottage cheese left from this week's manicotti, a chopped green onion, five slices of previously cooked bacon from the freezer, and a sprinkling of 2% fat mild cheddar cheese.
Oh, wow. For starting with a boxed mix this stuff was awesome. My hubby was very skeptical given the fact that broccoli was involved, but even he was loving it. The flavors were rich and had some amazing depth given the dish's humble origins. Double bonus was the fact that I got some odds and ends used up from the fridge and freezer. For an simple Saturday lunch, this turned out to be an awesome win.
Lunch time can be especially challenging because it's so tempting to just pick up fast food and be done with it. That, however, is not so good for our waistlines or wallet. During the week we eat mostly dinner leftovers, but that's not as easy to do when three of us are sitting down together. In which case, I often end up at Saturdays around 11:15 staring down an open refrigerator or cupboard trying like all get out to come up with something to eat. It doesn't have to be fancy, but I do want to prepare something tasty and quick.
This week was the usual standing in front of the fridge, looking over the leftovers, the sandwich fixings, and whatever else was lingering, trying to figure out what to make. I finally decided on macaroni and cheese, the kind in the blue box, and in Madagascar 2 shapes, no less. I'm fine with plain ole mac and cheese, but today I decided to see if I could up the game a little.
It turns out I was able to lay my hands on all the ingredients for loaded baked potatoes, but decided instead to make loaded mac and cheese. During the last eight minutes, or so, of cooking time for the pasta, I added some fresh broccoli florets. When the pasta was done cooking and drained, I added in the cheese powder, a generous tablespoon of butter, about a half cup of fat-free cottage cheese left from this week's manicotti, a chopped green onion, five slices of previously cooked bacon from the freezer, and a sprinkling of 2% fat mild cheddar cheese.
Oh, wow. For starting with a boxed mix this stuff was awesome. My hubby was very skeptical given the fact that broccoli was involved, but even he was loving it. The flavors were rich and had some amazing depth given the dish's humble origins. Double bonus was the fact that I got some odds and ends used up from the fridge and freezer. For an simple Saturday lunch, this turned out to be an awesome win.
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