Something Something, Boston Accent

A mainstay in freezer aisles now are meals bearing the name or are inspired by some of America's favorite chain restaurants.  The Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's and Marie Calendars (RIP sit down restaurants), among others all have selections in your local grocer.  While the meals aren't made in some kitchen owned by the restaurant directly, food processors (companies who make our 'prepared' foods that line our grocery shelves) enter into licenses with these restaurants to carry meals sporting their logos. 


The Review

Brand:
Boston Market Macaroni & Cheese

They Don't Just Make Cakes Anymore

It's been interesting seeing who's gotten into the mac n' cheese business.  So far, most of the pre-made or quick make options I've found have been made by companies that are known for cheese/dairy (Kraft) or for making meals, either in restaunts or as pre-cooked vareties.  I've only found a few special cases so far bucking that trend.  Nissin sneaking in with their ramen noodle mac and now Betty Crocker.  Betty Crocker at least here in the US is known for baked desserts.  They are one of the big brands that do cake/cupcake mixes and frostings. They don't really step too deep into other foods as far as I have ever seen... until now.

The Review

Brand:
Betty Crocker Bowl Appetit! Three-Cheese Rotini

This is the first wittily named brand I've had on this journey.  I approve food manufacturers.  Keep it up!

Nothing Comes Closer To Home...

Having so many vareties of mac n' cheese stored here at work (15 currently as of this post) has lead to some very fun conversations and reactions from my coworkers as I heat and reconstitute make my lunches that I'm reviewing for the blog.  From "Have you tried brand X", to "What in the hell is that?!?" I'm getting a wide range of comments daily.  I've even been letting coworkers choose that days pain, poison tasty lunch every few days, just to mix it up and I'm not tired of this stuff in the slightest!

Since I have had a pair of tasty homemade mac n' cheeses recently I thought that I should try the frozen kind that I've been told by a number of my coworkers (and others) that I should be having.  "It's 'THE' frozen mac n' cheese to have" they say, "You can't go wrong with it".  Today I put the vaunted must eat it mac n' cheese to the test.

The Review

Brand:
Stouffer's 'Simple Dishes' macaroni & cheese

Mac-Aids

We all love mac n' cheese.  Well I have a great fondness for it and I hope that those reading it are either just as big of fans of the cheesy noodley cassarole, or have a perverse enough sense of humor to watch me consume as many kinds of this stuff as possible while having a chuckle at my expense. 

You know that mac n' cheese has hit the big time when you start to see non food stuffs appear in the likeness of this blog's subject matter.  While being tourists with friends who were here for a long birthday weekend, we spent quite a lot of time in San Francisco enjoying the sites and just a small chunk of what the city has to offer.  While wandering through the tourist trap known as Pier 39 we found our way into one of the candy shops to spy what they had. 

The Candy Baron is a dangerous store where loose candy sold by the quarter pound might as well come with a mortgage repayment schedule and the shelves are stocked to the hilt with all kinds of candy and candy related parafanelia.  Hiding in the back corner were some of the more random things that seem to be in the local candy shops now.  The section devoted to bacon (if I only wouldn't die from eating so much of it, I would try to find a way to blog it as well), a section devoted to 'naughty' candies and other random items that best fit in there because they don't fit anywhere else.  While looking over the bacon section I spied something that just begged to be reviewed on Mac N' Steve...

The Review

Brand:
Accoutreatments Macaroni & Cheese Bandages

Could these be the best bandages ever???

In The Land Of Milk & Cheese

As I've said in a few earlier posts I work for an energy consulting firm here in the Bay Area.  One of my first jobs was working in an implementation program for a Southern California utility.  We had a client site visit and we weren't sure where exactly we were supposed to be going.  So it was my job to find out. I went to see if Land O' Lakes (the parent company) website happened to list their production facilities anywhere.  I just happened onto the fact that Land O' Lakes was celebrating Mac n' Cheese month when I was looking things up.  They had a recipe on the site and I figured why not try it.  It looked easy enough and up to that point, I had never made any good home made mac n' cheese meals myself. 

Since then, this meal has become my go to home make mac.  It gets made every few months and has become the primary side dish for our Xmas dinners (it goes great with the ham we always have), been brought into work for movie night and was most recently made for all of our Chicago friends who came out for Sharen's birthday this last week.

The Review

Recipe Title:

Land O' Lakes 'Best Ever Macaroni and Cheese' (This recipe is no longer on the Land O' Lakes site)

I'm A Big Kid Now!

Mac n' cheese isn't just a meal for adults and in many ways it's become a kids meal, that adults get to have with their kids.  The Krafts of the world advertise up and down on kid's shows and really market towards the youth of the country.  I may be silly enough to make sure that I get the Pokemon mac n' cheese, but I am not the norm.

When I was young I was occasionally allowed to eat TV dinners (the no longer fashionable name for the frozen meals of today) and often I made the choice to have ones that were marketed towards kids.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are a number of different 'kids' mac n' cheese meals out there.  It's a good thing I'm a kid at heart, because I didn't feel guilty one bit for buying these meals.  I'm looking out for kids too with this blog!

The Review

Brand:
Kid Cuisine Mac & Cheese

The power of cute penguins playing baseball is a sirens song to kids to get parents to buy this dish.

It Never Hurts To Get A Little Color

This blog has really changed my shopping habits.  I am now going through freezer aisles and scouring them for potential new or weird vareties of mac n' cheese. Which is kind of weird because I normally completely skip the TV dinner aisle (except to grab the occasional emergency dinner frozen pizza).  One would think that you would run into the same brands over and over, which to an extent is true.  But i've been finding that all my local stores are carrying at least one or two brands that another store doesn't seem to have, or specific vareties of a brand that another doesn't have (for example, just for Amy's Kitchen i've found four vareties at three different stores of two competing grocery chains).

I'm also finding a number of brands that i've never heard of before which for the sake of this blog (and potentially for the mac n' cheese eating portin of the US) is a great thing.  Today's review was the first mac n' cheese meal that included other things with the meal (either mixed with the mac or that accompanied the mac) and was a brand i've never heard of before purchasing it for the sake of the blog.

The Review

Brand:
Helen's Kitchen Mac & Cheese made with organic broccoli & Durum wheat semolina pasta

11% more of what!?!  I'm not sure if I should be excited or scared.

Mac N' Cheese, It's What's For Breakfast

Sorry for not having any fresh posts these last few days.  The Friday quickie post was trumped by a long birthday weekend full of out of town friends and antics & shenanigans in the SF Bay Area. 

I did however make a point to get mac n' cheese when I could.  I was successful in my endeavors and ate mac out (same place, twice), made a homemade mac and found some mac n' cheese by association. 

For the wife's birthday her friends and I plotted a surprise and they flew out for a long weekend of fun.  After picking them up at SFO we got back to our place and we were all feeling that grumble in our tummies telling us that we needed to eat something for breakfast.  We quickly decided on a local favorite of ours, Red Tractor Cafe in Dublin.  They do all kinds of good southern style dinners and serve great breakfasts all day.  While most of us had breakfast (there was a lone order of fried chicken) I decided that then was as good of time as any to officially review their mac n' cheese.  Now I can't recommend that you eat mac n' cheese for breakfast instead of a bowl of cereal every day, but like cold pizza, I don't think anyone will mind if it sneaks it's way onto your plate once in a blue moon. 

The Review

The sign that greets you at the Hacienda Crossing Plaza in Dublin

That Mac Isn't A One, It's A Zero

I had a long exciting weekend eating good food with friends.  However when one does that we sometimes have to do a gut check and partake in one of the 'healthier' mac n' cheese options available.  I've gone down the road with Amy's Kitchen, I figured why not try a meal done by one of the biggest diet companies in the country, Weight Watchers.  They're huge for a reason, people are paying them lots of money for what should be tasty and helthy-ish food.


The Review

Brand:
Weight Watchers Smart Ones Macaroni & Cheese

This Is Why My Friends Rock

I've got a friend, we'll call him Portobo.  Port is a food scientist.  He makes things taste like other things, or things taste delicious.  He sent me this in the mail today.


Chef Port's Magic Cheese Powder!




I think we could use some more cheese in this



This can only be described as a food stuffs of the gods and that any mac that receives a kiss of this will immediately become an empty bowl meal.

Thank you Port!

...And That's When He Finally Cracked

The original idea for this blog came to me about two years ago, when I had decided to make a quick mac n' cheese for lunch.  The meal required quite a bit of work to make and it had quite an interesting smell.  Two coworkers came in just as I started to make it and a conversation was struck about how that sure was an interesting smell and why in the blue blazes I was even eating it.  I of course had to chime up that I had other kinds at my desk and I figured it could be fun to try a few different kinds and that I never eat that stuff.  Soon after I had bought frozen ones and was trying all kinds.  By then I decided I should start a blog, bought a domain and then did nothing. For two years.  Well it's been two weeks and I've got friends looking for regional kinds, recipes being sent to me to try and a stash that will last me two weeks at my current stock of mac n' cheese.

Why bring this all up?  I had the meal that started it all for lunch today.  The meal that gave me the crazy idea to do this.  Here is it's review.

The Review

Brand:
Archer Farms Homestyle Five Cheese Macaroni Lunch Bowl

Golden Slurry

Having bought so many kinds of mac n' cheese I've been asking myself when should I eat some of these meals.  Should I have a 'healthy' one after a bad for me one?  Some of these look like snacks and some are full on meals so should that be a factor?  Little hungry, little meal?  Fortunately today I had a need for a snack (we'll ignore the fact that eating some mac n' cheese constitutes as a snack) and had a perfect sized mac n' cheese meal to try. 

The Review

Brand:
Chef Boyardee Mac & Cheese (Pasta in Cheese Sauce)

Did You Want Fries With That?

I finally get to review my first mac n' cheese that was made heated up for me at a restaurant!  I don't mind cooking (and I tend to do a good percentage of the home cooking) but there is something nice about going somewhere and just having (hopefully tasty) food served to you on occasion.  Most places that I'm going to find mac n' cheese will only be enjoyed at the restaurant, but with today's option, I got to bring it home.  My dinner came from a chain restaurant called Panera.  Panera is a bakery/cafe that does their own bagels, breads, pastries and all kinds of cafe meals (soups, salads & sandwiches). These guys are located all over the country and are a franchise operation.  They also do all kinds of seasonal stuff so they've got different things pretty much monthly.  It's a higher quality 'fast food' chain and luckily for me, they've got a mac n' cheese that needs reviewing!

The Review

Brand:
Panera's 'Signature Pasta' Mac & Cheese

 

If At First You Don't Succeed... Try Another Mac

Just a week ago I partook in my first vegan mac n' cheese meal.  We all know it didn't go over well.  Well Amy's Kitchen has a few other varieties and I figured why not give a more regular kind a shot.  I am will be a glutton for mac n' punishment.

The Review

Brand:
Amy's Kitchen Macaroni & Cheese Made With Organic Pasta

Is That Some Mac In Your Pocket... Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

We like portable food.  We also like quick food.  Foods that have found a way to do both at once are often a standard fare of those on the go (or those who really got to get back to that video game).  One of the more popular quick & portable meal options for many are Hot Pockets.  Burrito sized pocket sandwiches filled with meats, cheeses and the occasional veggie, they seem to have newer varieties every time you go to the store.  Hot Pocket has even taken to making a special line of Limited Edition pockets.  I don't know why the thought behind making flavors limited, but they've made one just for this blog.  I've seen it on shelves for a good six months so if you really want to try it, it's probably best to try it sooner than later.  You never know when it's going to go out of production.



The Review

Brand:
Hot Pockets Limited Edition Four Cheese Pasta Garlic Bake

There's No Party Like A Mac N' Cheese Party

People love parties and reasons to celebrate.  When people gather you can almost guarantee that food will be a central part of the experience.  Events that have lots of attendees usually start off with appetizers before the main meal.  I can't say that I would be serving mac n' cheese at a party I'm hosting (though I'd try now that I've got this blog running), but I may try to find a way to squeeze it in as a side dish or as some kind of appetizer. 

While wandering the frozen aisles today I stumbled onto some potential options that could be great additions to your next party, that is of course if they rate good enough.  Let's find out!

The Review

Brand:
Market Pantry Macaroni & Cheese Bites

Mac-Suey!

In my preliminary hunting I've seen lots of the standard fare mac n' cheeses (well as standard as one can get when we're talking about something like just add water to noodles and cheese powder) and what's gotten me real excited is when I find those 'out there' meals. Meals that are strange flavors or ones by manufacturers who aren't known for making mac n' cheese.

The internet has allowed me to find all kinds of interesting potential meals, but seeing them in stores means that a store's buyer is brave (or demented) enough to bring these great choices the waiting American public.  My lunch today is just that.  A meal that has you saying WHO made that and why in the heck would anyone even buy it.

The Review

Brand:
Nissin's Chow Noodles Cheddar Cheese Flavor

Eating Right Isn't Always Eating Good

Eating healthy is always a challenge.  We so often have such busy lives, that to carve out a chunk of time to make something nice at home is often replaced with a drive-thru window or a frozen thing out of the fridge.

A huge segment of the frozen meal segment has become one of "healthier" foods dominated by brands like Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers and whatever fad diet is the rage this year.  Your local grocery store is in on this craze too.  Just like the off brand cereal, snacks and canned goods, grocery stores now have their own branded frozen meals.  Today, I figured that because i'm trying so many kinds of mac n' cheese that maybe I should make it a 'healthier' one.

The Review

Brand:
Eating Right Macaroni & Cheese (Safeway's Healtheir Brand)

It Ain't Easy Being Cheezy

I said that I would try all kinds of mac n' cheese.  I am holding to that promise and will continue to do so, even when it no longer becomes mac n' cheese.  Today's lunch is a perfect example of this.  What did I eat you may ask?  I ate mac n' cheeze. 

I work for an energy consulting firm, where we manage, design and evaluate energy efficiency programs as well as help utilities plan future energy demand needs and do numerous one off consulting jobs for utilities across the country.  One of our programs that we manage for the local utility is a Demand Response program and one of the customers that we had signed up into this program was Amy's Kitchen.  They are no longer in the program as they became a co-generation site but that's not important.  I mention this because I'd never heard of them before we worked with them.  Now I see their frozen meals all over.  From Whole Foods to Target, everyone seems to carry their all natural ingredient meals.  They've hit the big time. 

I figured that their meals were going to be one of the high points I was going to get to experience on this journey of pre-made mac n' cheeses thanks to high quality ingredients that they pride them selves on using.  It sure was an adventure... right off the path over the cliff into a flaming ball of carnage.

The Review

Brand:
Amy's Kitchen Rice Macaroni with Dairy Free Cheeze

Bring on the TV tray!

Pre-made meals or "TV dinners" are a multi-billion dollar a year industry in the US.  Fast, and easy to cook you can just pop your meal into a microwave and have a hot and semi tasty meal ready in minutes.  Many of them are even better if cooked in the oven, though that can take a half hour or more for them to be ready.  These meals are so popular that grocery stores now devote multiple aisles to them and thanks to microwaves becoming main stream and the crazy advancements in food preservatives and preservation we can buy pre-made frozen almost anything.  Cookie dough?  Check.  Breakfast sandwiches?  Check.  Pizza, curries, steamed vegetables?  Check, check and check.

Many of the most popular meals are ones that take a bunch of time or a bunch of effort to prepare on your own, or are just good old comfort foods.  Mac n cheese ranks right up there as something that every brand has at least one or two varieties of on the shelf. 

TV dinners of the past were often known for not being very healthy.  Something like mac n' cheese isn't known for being super healthy in the first place so this doesn't bode well for someone like me deciding it's smart to eat dozens of kinds of macaroni and cheese.  Thankfully some strides have been made with these frozen meals though they include mostly cheeses (or I dearly hope they do) and starches, when eaten in moderation won't pickle a liver like eating McDonald's did to Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me.

So I begin my trip down the frozen rabbit hole with what has to be the cheapest complete frozen meal I've ever seen.

The Review

Brand:
Michelina's Zap 'ems Gourmet Macaroni & Cheese with Cheddar and Romano

Let's Raise A Cup... Part 2

I sure was surprised to see how many different kinds of these microwaveable cup mac n' cheese options there are.  At my local Safeway I had 5 Kraft/Velveeta meal varieties before I got into special noodle shapes like Sponge Bob, which added another two or three options (I thankfully passed on)!  I guess that shows how quick & easy meals like these are seen by parents as acceptable meal/snack options for the kids in the house.  As I said in a reply to a comment about yesterdays blog, these cups really don't serve as anything but a good emergency meal/snack for someone over the age of 12.  These should never be a primary mac n' cheese meal if you've got the means to cook something on a stove or some form of heating element.  Get that pot dirty, and just make one of the many kinds out there.  These cups just aren't meant to be a dinner.


The Review

Brand:
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese 'Triple Cheese'

Let's Raise A Cup... Part 1

Welcome to the first review of an actual mac n' cheese dish.  I'm sure that these will evolve over time as I realize that I wasn't thinking to include something as I complete these first reviews but I will try to make sure that the overall format stays the same.  Brand, Cost, Prep, Taste, Final Score.  For self prepared meals (stove top or microwave) I'll be sure to include the packaging preparation directions as well as any tips I discover that should be done to make it turn out better.  Unless something is just out and out wrong I will follow the directions on package to a T as to give all our subjects equal shakes based on what the brand says it should taste like.


Our mac n' cheese reviewed today is a daily meal snack of school and college kids across the country.  Almost instant mac n' cheese in a cup!  Kraft has their 'Easy Mac' line, and though this isn't quite that as today's meal is a Velveeta one (so it's cheese sauce and not a powder) it's in the same family as Kraft owns Velveeta.  If you've eaten the Easy Mac of years past, the stuff was just horrible.  I don't know what deal with the devil Kraft made, but this newer stuff is MILES better than Easy Mac of 6-8 years ago.  It's actually edible. 


The Review

Brand: 
Velveeta Shells & Cheese 'Original' flavor

Mac n' .... Chips?!?

When I first got the idea for this blog I went out and spent a good $30 on different mac n' cheese meals.  While wandering through my local Target, eying the many kinds of things i'd soon be tossing into my stomach I noticed something that seemed very out of place in the snack aisle... mac n' cheese.

Target's got a number of store brands and their major brand, Archer Farms, has numerous lines of snacks and fancier food stuffs.  Sitting there on the shelf next to their baked line of chips was a number of thick cut wavy chips.  One flavor stood out.  Macaroni & Cheese.  How exactly these are naturally flavored, when mac & cheese isn't really a flavor (though I did envision that there are chefs in the Archer Farms chip factory tossing premium mac & cheese into blenders and then drying it to have it sprayed on these chips did make me giggle) could make some worry, but I'm not doing this to nit-pick packaging claims.  Being afraid of buying a big ~10oz bag I was lucky enough to find smaller 1.5oz single serve bags. 

Welcome To Mac N' Steve

A blog two years in limbo is finally getting off the ground.  This blog is going to chronicle my very healthy (yeah right) attempt to eat all kinds of macaroni and cheese, be it at a restaurant or whatever boxed kinds I may stumble into at the store.  I'll be figuring out a review system akin to the system used by the SF Chronicle for their movies showing what it looks like when made and the damage done to the waistline.

I've got a bunch of varieties just waiting be made.  Check back soon for my first reviews!