Hopping To It

I've really prided myself on the fact that every mac that I've reviewed I never had to buy more than the one container/serving/order of (hopefully) cheesy pasta.  All those frozen meals are individual purchases.  Same with all these just add water cups and bowls I've reviewed, only one container to purchase.  Restaurants won't only sell me two orders of mac n' cheese unless I'm crazy enough to order them so unless I'm making a big a big casserole dish of the stuff at home, I don't have to worry about lots of extras either.  In the end this means that I'm not saddling myself with multiples of a cruddy variety of mac. 

That is of the utmost importance with this blog.  While some would want to begin to hoard their favorite versions, I'm here to review them all (darn you 'gotta catch em all, Poke-Cheese' mentality), not stop at the best or give up on the worst.  In my regular wanderings looking for the next meal to add to the review pile, I have really only come upon a scant few macs that I consistently keep saying "Nope" to and that's exclusively because of quantity that I need to buy in order to review them.  Target has a whole grain pasta just add water cup that only comes in a four pack and Annie's Homegrown microwaveable options only are sold in 5 single servings boxes.  I don't know why I decided to pull the trigger, other than it was most likely the sale that Target going on at the time, but I broke down and bought two of the three options (the gluten free wasn't on sale and was much more expensive so behind it stayed).

While I've had Annie's very yummy Cheddar Bunnies a number of times, I have yet to try any of their many varieties of mac n' cheese.  Their just add water version is just as good as any to start with and since I've got a box of five to eat/give to others at work, I best get started.


The Review

Brand:
Annie's Homegrown Microwaveable Mac & Cheese with real white cheddar

Now the only REAL difference between white and yellow Cheddar is that there is a coloring agent annatto, used to give it the orange we're used to seeing today. The coloring doesn't affect the taste of the cheese, that all comes from the aging process.

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