Monday 10 March 2014

Velveeta Down-Home Macaroni & Cheese



The Loch Ness Monster. The Egyptian pyramids. The popularity of the Kardashians. Our world is full of mysteries.

I’ve said it before, but one of the mysteries that keeps me up at night is the price of Velveeta. It's eight dollars! Why does processed cheese cost more than real cheese? Isn’t the whole point of processed food is that it’s cheaper than real food? I mean, do you know how many games of skee ball I could play with eight dollars?

When my aunt sent me the cookbook, Velveeta Crowd-Pleasing Recipes, I thought two things: she must consider me her rich nephew and that I know enough people to qualify as a "crowd." Rather than tell her the truth, I asked Mother for an advance on my inheritance, bought some Velveeta and made the Down-Home Macaroni & Cheese. It was rich and delicious. Key word: rich.

Thanks, Auntie Gayle! The crowd loved it. I’m going sailing on my yacht now.

¼ cup butter or margarine, divided
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
½ pound Velveeta Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into ½-inch cubes (See note)
2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked, drained
½ cup Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese
¼ cup crushed Ritz Crackers

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt 3 tbsp of the butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour; mix well. Cook 2 min., stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring until well blended. Cook on medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add Velveeta; cook until melted, stirring frequently. Add macaroni; mix lightly.

Spoon into lightly greased 2-qt. casserole dish; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Melt remaining 1 tbsp butter; toss with cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.

Bake 20 min. or until heated through. Makes 5 servings, 1 cup each.

Note: A half pound is a half brick. Or four bucks worth.

Source: Velveeta Crowd-Pleasing Recipes


22 comments:

  1. My own personal theory is that Velveeta costs so much because there's a lot of science and engineering involved. And we all know that neither scientists nor engineers come cheap.
    This looks delicious and I would probably make it except for the fact that I've never been able to cut Velveeta into cubes or any other shape.

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    1. I had a recipe once that called for grated Velveeta. It took me two years to clean my cheese grater.

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    2. Been there. For the last knoxapocalypse challenge. Who shreds Velveeta?
      Maybe it'd be easier to work with if it was put in the freezer for a bit?

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    3. For a while, you could buy pre-shredded Velveeta in a bag but I haven't seen it lately.

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    4. Pre-shredded Velveeta probably costs $1200 or something.

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  2. Stop it. Stop it right now.
    I WANT THIS SO MUCH!
    *hangs head in shame*

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    Replies
    1. It's the Ritz cracker crust, isn't it? Gets 'em every time.

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  3. "Half a pound is half a brick or four bucks worth"... if you had added "that's sixteen bits!", I would have sworn you were channeling my late father.

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    1. Er..is that thirty two bits?

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    2. Yeah, but aren't you measuring it in Metric?

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    3. Truthfully, I'm not sure. That whole exchange confused me. (Between you, me and the fencepost, I don't know what "bits" are.)

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    4. I'm not sure what "bits" are either, other than the fact that some are Tender, meaning, I guess, that you don't want to get kicked in them.
      Do I get a prize for most commas in one sentence?

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    5. Congratulations! You DO win a prize. A pair of open-toed white pumps is on its way to you. Please make sure you wear the shoes with taupe nylons.

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  4. I'm laughing out loud in London even though I have no idea what the hell y'all are talking about. Next time a friend goes across the Atlantic I will take out a bank loan and ask them to get me some of this Velveeta stuff.

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    1. You send me $100 and two packages of Marks & Spencer Shrimp Crisps and we've got a deal.

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  5. Didn't the skyrocketing price of Velveeta came from the Superbowl liquid gold Cheesepocalypse? I kept hearing about a shortage of Velveeta, but every time I went to the grocery store, they were fully stocked!

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    1. It's all marketing, Polly. And we all fell for it, didn't we? I stocked up and now I've got a garage full of Velveeta. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to summer.

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  6. I just looked up the cost of a 250g package of Velveeta on iga.net. Here in Montreal 250b is $5.09, but 500g is $7.19. They must think people are generally really bad at math.

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    1. I think eating too much Velveeta must affect your brain. Maybe that's how they can get away with charging so much.

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  7. "Macaroni and Cheese" or in short "Mac and Cheese" is the most common recipe that we can find under "Kids Menu" in any restaurant, here in the USA. Not just kids love this but adults equally do. The most cheesy pasta. Fish and Chips Takeaway Glasgow

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