Here's an insanely easy and very tasty
mac and cheese "
from scratch" recipe, which uses non-powdered cheese. I originally saw it on PBS on "America's Test Kitchen", and found several similar recipes online.
There's only
five (5) simple ingredients: water, milk, pasta, American cheese, cheddar cheese.
I've made this three times in my van, and found it easy (I'd previously made it a few times in s&b).
It's very
tolerant of guesstimated amounts.
It consistently takes about
12 grams of
butane, on my GasOne (GS-800P) portable camping stove.
Some genius food hacker figured out that there's an emulsifier in "American" cheese that keeps the sauce smooth. It's a lot simpler than using flour to make a "roux".
Do
not use American "singles". Instead, go to the
deli counter and buy that American cheese. If you ask them to slice it as thin as possible, you won't have to bother shredding it.
Here's the recipe, scaled down for
one person:
4 ounces pasta (I've always used whole grain)
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cups water
2 ounces American cheese, shredded or sliced
2 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
(optional) Parmesan cheese
(optional) panko bread crumbs fried in a bit of oil
1. Measure pasta, milk and water into pot.
Flame on (leave at high), and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low (i.e. fluid is gently bubbling).
Continue cooking, stirring often, until pasta is cooked, about 5 to 9 minutes.
2. Add American cheese, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted, about 1 minute.
3. Turn off heat/flame, stir in cheddar. Cover pot, let stand for 5 minutes.
4. (optional) Fry panko bread crumbs with parmesan cheese in a bit of oil, add.
Or just shake some shredded parm on at the end.
Yes, there's no
straining.
Technically, all the recipes I saw gave traditional instructions (i.e. bring fluid to boil, then add pasta), but when I was in a b&s, I experimented and could not taste any difference.
Here's real in-van pics:
Simmering:
Pasta has cooked enough, just added the American Cheese:
Ready to eat:
Closeup of the richly sauced pasta:
That pasta is whole grain "bow tie". It's the remainder of the least expensive whole grain kind that I had ordered while stuck without transport during my epic engine death.
While in s&b, I did make it with
panko bread crumbs, which bumped up the flavor, but haven't bothered in my van. A few shakes of Parmesan is a nice addition, but forgot to do that last night and it still tasted great.
I've made it with a range of cheddar, from "medium" thru "extra sharp".
Will experiment with non-cheddar, soon.
