What's In A Name... Or How I Almost Got Food Poisoning

I've been noticing that there have been a good number of alternates to the classic mac n' cheese.  Homemade recipes and preparers of fine pre-packaged foods have snuck meats and other things into my mac meals.  I've already had a few and each one, be it Hamburger Helper, or Shells & Broccoli has added a little something to the dish (whether good or bad is part of what I'm trying to figure out on this here blg).  But I've begun questioning what should make sure that I'm reviewing for the blog.

What happens when it's a mac n' cheese, but doesn't say that it is by name?  I mean a mac n' cheese is a pretty simply defined meal... or so I thought.  Pasta and cheese/cheese sauce is the blueprint and when that extra veggie, chicken or other item makes it in you just roll with it.  In one of my recent Target trips (I seem to go there quite a bit, especially because one is across the street from work) I saw that they had a new just add water bowl and picking it up I discovered that the description on the front of the box was mac n' cheese (with bacon!), but the name was all 'fancy'.

I figured that this meal would be a good test.  If it stuck true to the mac, I'd have to scour my grocer's aisles even more than I already do and if it was anything but it, then I'd wait for the comment from a reader or friend to say you totally need to try this for the blog before I worried about another one. 

The Review

Brand:
Archer Farms Bacon Carbonara

Your fancy name doesn't dissuade me! I know what you really are underneath that fancy name... well at least I hope I know what you are.

...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

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.