Mac n cheese with kielbasa and diced tomatoes and green peppers has been a fave of mine for more than 50 years.
Well, after looking elsewhere I have now 3 contenders…
Oven roasted broccoli
Garlic shrimps
Chilli
So I went with a kiddie version Chilli. And yes @Whisky , everything was done from scratch as there is no Velveeta or such available here. Béchamel, sharp Cheddar, elbow pasta, garlic powder and Hungarian paprika
Those are fighting words.I am not a Velveeta fan.
Happy to get a dairy/cheese only recipe. I only used mature cheddar with the Béchamel but a chesse mix might be more flavorful.I'm with you on pairing M&C with broccoli or chili, but combining mac and cheese with garlic shrimp does not appeal to me. Yes to the garlic, no to the shrimp. I also would not be inclined to pair M&C with a fish that was not breaded and deep fried. I tend to think that it goes well with nearly any beef, pork, or chicken dish that is sufficiently seasoned. Lightly- or mildly-seasoned meat dishes may not work right with the M&C pairing.
I've done the bechamel version of M&C several times in the past and I was never happy with the results. The flour muted the flavor and if I used a hard, flavorful cheese I found it very difficult to keep the sauce from becoming gloppy and oily. I then learned to make the cheese sauce by combining a soft cheese with hard cheeses and other dairy components like butter and milk. If the hard cheese is added to the pan when the other ingredients are already hot and melted, the hard cheese will melt, but not break down. The flavor and texture distribute nicely. Cream cheese normally fills the soft-cheese role for me, but it may have a different name or not be available to you. I expect that any mildly-flavored soft cheese would work fine.
I am not a Velveeta fan.
I've paired M&C with many foods, and a properly-made meatloaf is a favorite for me. 'Meatloaf' does not have a uniform meaning to people. For me, it is ultimately savory, not sweet, and it has more vegetable content than you might expect. I'm not sure that sharing the recipe details will be of any use to you, only because our respective grocery stores carry different stock and use different product names. I tried making my chili recipe for friends of mine while in Britain years ago. I had a horrible time trying to find suitable ingredients for the purpose and I was pretty underwhelmed by the end product.
Booze makes most things better.Those are fighting words.
J/K I guess I don’t hate it, but I only have it once a year at Super Bowl parties. Mixed with ground sausage, Rotel, and a little milk it makes an excellent dip. Now that I think about it I only eat the dip after I’ve had a good amount of alcohol. Maybe I’m not an fan either.
Well, after looking elsewhere I have now 3 contenders…
Oven roasted broccoli
Garlic shrimps
Chilli