What I am doing with all that Mac & Cheese I got last week

I got a lot of Mac & Cheese (Kraft/Velveta) box variety with the ready made sauce already in it last week if you all remember. My husband likes the old fashion Kraft in the blue box where you mix it yourself so I have to be a little inventive to make this Mac & Cheese a bit more acceptable to his simple tasting pallet. It is shame when we are so used to the cheap stuff that the more expensive stuff doesn't taste as well huh? This is what I have made so far:

Hamburger and Kraft Mac & Cheese

(previously to getting this expensive box I would make the regular blue box and mix in a pound of browned ground beef)



So I did it with it expensive stuff and surprise my husband ate it. (that is sarcastic cause I knew he would eat it anyway)



This type of meal is cheap, easy and I have to tell you tastes good. It is way better then hamburger helper because you don't have all that extra sodium. Try it and I bet the kids will love it. Add a salad, or fruit and you are good to go. My family likes bread/butter as well.

Taco Kraft Mac & Cheese

I made a taco bake casserole that is yummy. I took two pounds of ground beef and made it into taco meat. (actually this I did when I brought the meat home so all I had to do was warm it up)

I put half the taco meat and a jar of salsa and layered that on the bottom of a rectangle casserole dish. I took a bit of shredded cheese (I had taco cheese) and put a bit on top of the meat. Then I put about half of the mac & cheese (already prepared and I used two boxes) on top of the meat mixture and spread it out. I put a bit more shredded cheese and the rest of the meat mixture on top of that. Put the final layer of mac & Cheese on top. I added a bit more shredded cheese and I used a whole box of crushed up taco shells and put on top of the entire mixture. If you are going to eat right away then bake for about 15 minutes at 400. I put mine in fridge for part of the day and had my daughter put it in the oven for about a half hour until it was done. Delish!

If you are a salsa person then I would add more layers of that. I am not a salsa person but I didn't want the meat to burn on the bottom. You could also add the crushed taco shells into each layer. If you try this recipe let me know how you like it.

Baked Kraft Mac & Cheese

Click on mac & cheese to go to the original recipe on Kraft's site.

I told you all that I would get the recipe for the Easy homemade Mac & cheese Kraft recipe and here it is. I love this recipe. It tastes like homemade, its easy and is great as leftovers.

1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper or black pepper
6 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Make It
HEAT oven to 375°F. Prepare Dinner as directed on package. Stir in 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, sour cream and pepper.
SPOON into greased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese and the combined cracker crumbs and butter.
BAKE 20 min. Let stand 5 min. before serving.