Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Another Successful Cooking Experiment

I've mentioned before that I don't really cook. I have the tools, but not the practice, and I've made most of the mistakes it is possible to make.

Recently I subscribed to a couple of food newsletters. One from Food Network, and one from Kraft Foods. While 99% of the recipes they send me don't appeal to me, recently I saw one that I thought I might be able to manage, so I saved it. And last night, without telling Eric what I was making, I made it.

The recipe is for Sloppy Joe Mac, a strange combination of Sloppy Joes and Mac & Cheese. I was a little worried about the taste because some of the reviewers stated that the flavors didn't work for them. One even claimed to have thrown out the dish after a few bites! On the other hand, it appeared to fit our tastes pretty well, and it wasn't too much of a challenge to make. So I went for it...

Kraft Foods Sloppy Joe Mac

Ingredients: one pound ground beef, 1 package KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, 2 cups water, BBQ sauce (about 1/2 cup), and 1 cup tomato sauce. Large skillet, non-stick, with lid. Optional: toppings like fresh lettuce, tomatoes, or shredded cheese.

Brown the beef then drain. Add the noodles, water, and BBQ sauce and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and cover. Simmer for about 8 minutes or until the mix thickens, stirring a couple of times. Remove the cover, add the cheese sauce mix and tomato sauce and stir until it's really well mixed. Serve immediately and top with any toppings you feel like (I used shredded cheese).

Leftovers need to be refrigerated. Makes about 4 adult-size servings. Kid-sizes may vary. Preparation time is about 20 minutes.

Update: Just had part of the leftovers for lunch today, and if anything it got better overnight. Yum. This recipe must be really bad for us, or it wouldn't taste so good. End Update

Goes best with some sort of veggie. I used corn this time, but I think carrots would work really well. It didn't really need any extra seasoning, but that will depend in part on what kind of BBQ sauce you use. Try not to use BBQ sauce that will clash with the cheese sauce too much. I don't have any good ideas for experimenting on it for next time... it turned out really well this time around.

Previous Recipes:
I'm putting my recipes on the blog mostly to keep a record of what has been successful for me. I'm not a daring cook, and I'm usually not willing to spend a lot of time in prepping food. But I actually kind of like cooking, and I'm always looking for something different to serve. The same four dishes week after week get tiring even for me. Add in the fact that I'm really a very picky eater, and finding recipes becomes an annoying chore. So having a record of other recipes is a good thing... and hey, this is the boring blog, so it fits right in!

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