Kaylee's not-a-blog » Food » Meals » Macaroni & Cheese, from "scratch", with dry vegs(3) & bacon bits

This is one of my standard cool weather dishes, which I've posted before.
I saw the original recipe on "America's Test Kitchen" (a PBS cooking show), and recommend you read the article and/or watch their YouTube video.

• scaled down to one hearty portion size
• use milk powder (instead of regular milk)
• use process cheese "singles" instead of "deli" process cheese
    ("singles" are about a quarter to half the cost of "deli", and are far more shelf stable)
• skip the more esoteric optional ingredients (Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, panko bread crumbs)
• add all initial ingredients to water before boiling (to save fuel)

In this version, I added 3 types of dehydrated/freeze-dried veggies (which I often use), and (first time ever) bacon bits. :)

The first time I used bacon bits (as shown in pictures below), I added the bacon bits immediately before serving/consuming.
Since then, I've been adding them with the cheddar, which I feel tastes better.
As always, please experiment and decide what works best for you. :)

I'm also now adding regular (yellow) mustard at the same time as the process cheese, which adds a mild zing. :)
I'm using either a single (fast food) packet of mustard, or (now that it has thawed out from my 2nd full Northern winter) a squirt from a cheap (Aldi) mustard dispenser.
Dollar General sells their house brand of Dijon mustard for $1 so I'm seriously considering buying & trying it.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces (110~ g) pasta (any kind you want)
• 2 tablespoons (30~ mL) powdered milk
• 1 1/4 cups (300~ g or mL) water
• (optional) vegetables (I often use all of: freeze dried green peas, freeze dried sweet corn, dehydrated carrots)
  
  
• 2 ounces (55~ g) process cheese (aka "American" cheese), shredded or sliced or ripped
    (I normally use three(3) "singles" and have found "Great Value" brand works particularly well)
    (lately, I've been using two(2) "singles" which is satisfactory, IMO)
• (optional) 1/2 teaspoon (0.25~ ml) Dijon mustard
    (a single fast food packet of regular mustard is an easy & nice alternative)
• (optional) small pinch cayenne pepper
  
  
• 2 ounces (55~ g) extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded/etc
• (optional) bacon bits (or any other precooked meat)
  
  
• (optional) parmesan cheese
• (optional) panko bread crumbs fried in a bit of oil
• (optional) salt, pepper

Note for Fridge Folks:
The original recipe called for 1/2 cup milk and 3/4 cups water, instead of powdered milk.

Steps:

1. Measure pasta, milk powder, dry vegetables, and water into pot.
   Turn flame/heat on, and bring to boil.
2. Turn flame/heat off, stir well, cover and let it "coast" for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the pasta is near desired tenderness.
3. Add process cheese, turn flame/heat back on, stir constantly for about 1 minute, until cheese is melted.
   (If using mustard or cayenne pepper, add them with the process cheese.)
4. Turn off flame/heat, add cheddar & bacon bits, stir them in (just roughly stirred - it's ok to be "lumpy").
   Cover pot, let stand for 5 minutes.
5. (optional) Fry panko bread crumbs with parmesan cheese in a bit of oil, add on top of meal.
   Or just shake some shredded parmesan on, either/both at the same time you add the cheddar, or/and right before serving. :)

Note: there's no straining. :)

Pictures:

All ingredients (except milk powder and water):

At the bottom right, note the small plastic container.
This is one of a set of ten (from DollarTree), which I prepack with a mix of all three of the dry vegetables that I most often use together (e.g. with ramen).
Batch prepacking saves time and mental energy:  they're all pre-measured & ready to dump. :)

Main dry ingredients (including powdered milk), before adding water:

3 process cheese "singles", stacked then ripped up, ready to add:

After cooking (showcasing richly sauced pasta), just before adding bacon bits:

After adding bacon bits & parmesan, ready to eat:

Calories & Cost:

item	Calories	Cost
elbow macaroni	400	$0.25
milk powder	35	$0.12
processed cheese (3 singles)	150	$0.31
cheddar cheese (extra sharp)	220	$0.50
Bacon bits	43	$0.24
Parmesan cheese	40	$0.11
Totals:	888	$1.53

I did not measure the bacon bits & parmesan, so they are estimated above.
I did not calculate the calories & cost of the dry vegetables, so left them out entirely.