# Cheapie boxed mac and cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910 "2020-06-18T15:42:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/62 "2020-07-22T13:13:10Z")
Wow, I didn’t realize I’d trigger such a debate about butter quantities and measurements. My exact wording was “a cube of butter (about 2 tablespoons)” so I did specify. The butter delivery units I’m used to come in sticks that are exactly 4-3/4" x 1-1/4" x 1-1/4". Cutting a 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" cube off of one of those sticks results in approx. 2 tablespoons of butter. I apologize for any confusion or ruined mac & cheese I may have caused. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/63 "2020-07-22T14:26:51Z")
Sidestep a bit: My wife and I went to this lake-side seafood restaurant the other day. She’s not much of a fish eater but if there’s a grouper dish, she’ll plow through. Alas, no grouper, and most of the other dishes had seafood she didn’t like–shrimp, crawdad, crab, etc. She settled on a (believe it or not) mac & cheese entree. Cavatelli pasta, Andouille sausage, chunks of ham the size of your pinkie toe and cheese sauce so thick the spoon stood up in it. Man. Was. That. Good. Excellent recommendation by our server and a gutsy move (IMHO) serving a M&C entree; there was enough for a second meal–just as good two days later. Longhorn Steakhouse has a M&C side dish that could probably pass for an entree. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/64 "2020-07-22T15:08:37Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Wow, I didn’t realize I’d trigger such a debate about butter quantities and measurements. I didn’t know this was what **Chronos** ’s original warning about cube sizes was referring to - it wasn’t quoted. Now it all makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/65 "2020-08-10T02:29:53Z")
OK, last week I broke down and bought a box of the 39 cent Save-a-Lot mac and cheese. I didn’t use butter or milk, but I used a glob of sour cream. I figured it had the fat covered, and the tartness might just add a bit of sharp cheddarish flavor. Not bad at all! [/quote] [The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)[Charter Member](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Charter_Member) There was something better than the powdered Kraft M&C, Golden Grain. I remember that from back in college. It was a dime cheaper than Kraft, and it used full size elbow macaroni. It also came in a bag instead of a box, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/66 "2020-08-10T03:49:27Z")
Kayla developed her own technique for making Kraft M&C several years ago. She follows the recipe on the box, but when stirring in the powder, she adds a torn-up slice of Kraft Singles to the pan. She says otherwise it’s too dry. These days she discards the powder altogether, and adds a shit-ton of butter, freshly ground black pepper, and some fresh-grated hard cheeses (Parmesan and Pecarino). She calls it _Cacio e Pepe_, and it was her favorite lunch this summer. The cheese powder she puts on microwave popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/67 "2020-08-10T03:59:21Z")
Why buy pasta in the little box if she’s not going to add the cheez mix? Isn’t it cheaper just to buy a bag/box of plain noodles? Or is it that you want the cheez mix for popcorn, too? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/68 "2020-08-10T04:03:46Z")
I bought the Mac and cheese. But she was living with me since her school went into lockdown in the spring, and I allowed her autonomy in the kitchen and larder. I don’t care much for popcorn, and I bought that because she asked me to. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/69 "2020-08-10T04:06:35Z")
She sounds clever. And has good taste! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910/70 "2020-08-14T01:43:36Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > My mom was a total “make everything from scratch” type too, so we never had Kraft Mac ‘n’ Cheese at home. I didn’t discover it until college (introduced by the eventual spouse and his roomies), and I still love the stuff. I don’t eat it very often anymore, but I like the stuff with the nuclear-orange powder better than the one with the creamy sauce in the foil packet. We used to eat it with tuna back then too, though I haven’t tried that in many years. Now it’s making me kinda hungry for it. Wow, you coulda written this post for me, word for word, right down to being introduced to the stuff in college by my eventual spouse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapie-boxed-mac-and-cheese/855910.md?page=3)