Best store bought macaroni and cheese

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Casey, unless you've been eating them all along, I recommend you don't , think you'll find the taste surprisingly awful compared to what you remember. Aunt Bea may have been using them and to her the taste won't have changed or be surprising - which is fine. But I think the shock might seriously traumatize you. :LOL:
 
That canned ravioli was one of my staples as a cash poor college student. I havesn't had it in years, but sometimes I get tempted to buy a can, just for nostalgia.

CD
Same. Even after I was married, I sometimes had it for lunch. Then I didn't have it for many years. Then DH bought it for me for an easy meal after a surgery several years ago. It tasted better in my memory 😁
 
Casey, unless you've been eating them all along, I recommend you don't , think you'll find the taste surprisingly awful compared to what you remember. Aunt Bea may have been using them and to her the taste won't have changed or be surprising - which is fine. But I think the shock might seriously traumatize you. :LOL:
I didn't see this before I wrote my comment above 🤣
 
I actually kinda liked the canned cheese ravioli , and the spaghettio's. I always used to eat them cold, right out of the can. Ahhh, the good ole days.

Years ago, my dad was an accountant, and one of his clients was a well known chef, with a well known, highly rated restaurant inn NYC at the time. My dad met him at his house for business purposes, and the guy answered the door with an open can of Spaghettio's, spoon in hand and eating it out of the can. My dad questioned him " You have such a high end restaurant why are you eating that crap?". His response, " Cause I like it." Dont remember the chef or restaurant . This had to have been 40 + years ago.
 
This is almost as easy as a box of mac and cheese and much less expensive. And you can add your own spin to it - use two or three different cheeses, add some onion and garlic powder, dry mustard, etc. Sometimes I put a mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top and bake it on an upper rack till the top browns - maybe 10 minutes at 350F.
 
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I actually kinda liked the canned cheese ravioli , and the spaghettio's. I always used to eat them cold, right out of the can. Ahhh, the good ole days.

Years ago, my dad was an accountant, and one of his clients was a well known chef, with a well known, highly rated restaurant inn NYC at the time. My dad met him at his house for business purposes, and the guy answered the door with an open can of Spaghettio's, spoon in hand and eating it out of the can. My dad questioned him " You have such a high end restaurant why are you eating that crap?". His response, " Cause I like it." Dont remember the chef or restaurant . This had to have been 40 + years ago.
I used to eat both of those, canned spaghetti rings and canned ravioli. I couldn't now, though. Tastes change.
 
That canned ravioli was one of my staples as a cash poor college student. I haven't had it in years, but sometimes I get tempted to buy a can, just for nostalgia.

CD
Some advice, don't. When I was staying with Craig's brother due to his terminal cancer diagnosis and no longer being able to live alone, he got nostalgic and wanted some of the ravioli and Spaghetti O's. So, I got some next time I made a grocery run. I heated it up and served, we started eating, and then we decided to order pizza.
 
My problem is that I don't have a microwave and some mac and cheese only have directions for microwave prep
If you have an oven, you can make mac and cheese in it. Just cook the macaroni, then drain it and mix it with cheese and other ingredients in a baking dish.
 
No matter what anyone says, the convenience and ease of Kraft Mac n Cheese, not to mention price, cannot be beat.
How to compare:
Grate your cheese, opening can vs tear open box, tear open foil pack.
Kraft dinner = $1.99 or minimum 3 for 1.66 (= 4.98)

6 oz. cheese Gruyere = $8.00 or Cheddar = $5.00
6 oz. evaporated Milk = $1.50 (or more)
not even going to add & in for the pasta...

So $1.99 vs $6.50

Don't get me wrong - I pay anywhere from $4.50 (large single serve) to $6.99 (for 2 servings, except I usually eat 3/4 :mrgreen:) for the Reser's Main St. or make it myself with a combo of Gruyere and Cheddar.

For little kids, Kraft could do 3 servings. Adults 2??
 
No matter what anyone says, the convenience and ease of Kraft Mac n Cheese, not to mention price, cannot be beat.
How to compare:
Grate your cheese, opening can vs tear open box, tear open foil pack.
Kraft dinner = $1.99 or minimum 3 for 1.66 (= 4.98)

6 oz. cheese Gruyere = $8.00 or Cheddar = $5.00
6 oz. evaporated Milk = $1.50 (or more)
not even going to add & in for the pasta...

So $1.99 vs $6.50

Don't get me wrong - I pay anywhere from $4.50 (large single serve) to $6.99 (for 2 servings, except I usually eat 3/4 :mrgreen:) for the Reser's Main St. or make it myself with a combo of Gruyere and Cheddar.

For little kids, Kraft could do 3 servings. Adults 2??
It’s sad but true that we live in a world where price trumps health and nutrition.

I understand that in some situations the lack of money is a very real concern but IMO the major concern is our choices and priorities.

I’m as guilty as anyone, I still can’t resist a $tore meal every now and then.
 
When I was growing up, we NEVER had mac and cheese of any kind. It just wasn't a food we ate. I may have had some Kraft at a friend's house for lunch. I have since made some myself and eaten store bought mac and cheese. I like it, but it's still not something I am crazy about.

If I couldn't buy mac and cheese (Stouffers) I found a three ingredient, 15 minute, quick and easy recipe I make. My grandson loves it. That's good enough for me.
 
For little kids, Kraft could do 3 servings. Adults 2??
Not even that little of kids. I remember being 11 or 12ish and we were visiting family friends with the daughter being 15 or 16, and the son being a couple years younger than me. The daughter made a box of Kraft for us for lunch and all 3 of us ate and had plenty. The reason I remember is that it tasted way better than when mother made it so I asked her what she did, added some butter and black pepper.
 
It’s sad but true that we live in a world where price trumps health and nutrition.

I understand that in some situations the lack of money is a very real concern but IMO the major concern is our choices and priorities.

I’m as guilty as anyone, I still can’t resist a $tore meal every now and then.
This is not about mac n cheese but I can remember my dismay when I discovered that coke was cheaper then milk. When you have to penny pinch to feed your kids - which are you going to buy?
(actually, if it was now, I wouldn't buy either - it would be water at the table.)
 
This is not about mac n cheese but I can remember my dismay when I discovered that coke was cheaper then milk. When you have to penny pinch to feed your kids - which are you going to buy?
(actually, if it was now, I wouldn't buy either - it would be water at the table.)
My ex husband grew up fairly poor. His mother absolutely insisted on using butter, not the cheaper margarine. There were other things like that, but I can't remember what they were. Her thought process was that when she had very little money, then every penny she spent on food had to be real food with some real nutrition in it.
 
This is not about mac n cheese but I can remember my dismay when I discovered that coke was cheaper then milk. When you have to penny pinch to feed your kids - which are you going to buy?
(actually, if it was now, I wouldn't buy either - it would be water at the table.)
When I was a kid, my parents bought dry milk powder and reconstituted it for cereal. When they switched to regular milk, we didn't like it at first 🤣
 
No matter what anyone says, the convenience and ease of Kraft Mac n Cheese, not to mention price, cannot be beat.
How to compare:
Grate your cheese, opening can vs tear open box, tear open foil pack.
Kraft dinner = $1.99 or minimum 3 for 1.66 (= 4.98)

6 oz. cheese Gruyere = $8.00 or Cheddar = $5.00
😲 Who puts Gruyére cheese on mac and cheese??
6 oz. evaporated Milk = $1.50 (or more)
not even going to add & in for the pasta...

So $1.99 vs $6.50
Making half the recipe, or 6 oz of each item, makes at least 4 servings for us, as a generous side dish. With 4 more ounces of cheese, it's a full recipe, or you can make it twice (I've never seen evaporated milk in a 6-ox container). Using odds and ends of leftover cheese makes it a great way to use up random fridge stuff. And how difficult is it to grate some cheese while you boil the noodles?

Maybe Andy or someone else who likes math can figure out the details, but I think homemade is a better deal all around.
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lol- you'd be surprised by how many use Gruyere in mac n cheese. Not the whole amount of course! You mix it with the other cheeses.

Your cheese for $2.49 = $3.41 cdn - I'm afraid our cheese is a bit more. A 200 g of 'no-name' brand cheddar cheese is $4.35 (cdn).
I guess it is all individual choices and what's available in your areas.

Our 'no-name' evaporated milk is $2.15 (cdn). I believe that small cans are available but rather hard to find. So that means I would have some left over - I rarely if ever use evaporated milk. I think I do have a can in the pantry somewhere but I would not want to look at the date!

But as I've already said - I would rather make it (or buy Reser's) than go with the box.
 
lol- you'd be surprised by how many use Gruyere in mac n cheese. Not the whole amount of course! You mix it with the other cheeses.

Your cheese for $2.49 = $3.41 cdn - I'm afraid our cheese is a bit more. A 200 g of 'no-name' brand cheddar cheese is $4.35 (cdn).
I guess it is all individual choices and what's available in your areas.

Our 'no-name' evaporated milk is $2.15 (cdn). I believe that small cans are available but rather hard to find. So that means I would have some left over - I rarely if ever use evaporated milk. I think I do have a can in the pantry somewhere but I would not want to look at the date!

But as I've already said - I would rather make it (or buy Reser's) than go with the box.
I learned a trick from Paul Prudhomme to use up evaporated milk, mashed potatoes. They taste different, but I actually really like them more than with milk. His mother used evaporated milk for a lot of things because they were poor with lots of kids and it was cheaper than cow's milk.

You can also use it in place of cream in a lot of sauces.
 
I appreciate medtran always good to have reminders for that sort of thing. I know mom always had cans around. They were popularly used in lots of casseroles back in the day. I kept cans because she did and I knew there was much could be done with them. I just never did them! I know sad, sad. I'm only just starting to mash potatoes again. (just when I decide to make a concentrated effort to watch my carbs... story of my life)
 
I learned a trick from Paul Prudhomme to use up evaporated milk, mashed potatoes. They taste different, but I actually really like them more than with milk. His mother used evaporated milk for a lot of things because they were poor with lots of kids and it was cheaper than cow's milk.

You can also use it in place of cream in a lot of sauces.
This, plus you can freeze it for later. But let's not get too caught up in our own habits and preferences. My response was a suggestion for the OP and whoever else might be able to make use of it.
 

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