Mac and Cheese Taste Test

Although I would like to believe Betty Crocker taught me well the basics of mac and cheese, I do have boxed, processed macaroni and cheese two to three times a month. My husband likes it (as he does my baked mac) and more importantly, it's something he's comfortable making.

As a family, we prefer Wegmans mac and cheese. The generic Wegmans stuff. The spirals. NOT the white cheddar. Not the elbows.

Kraft is yummy, especially that new formula they have out now, but I won't pay their prices. If I pay that for mac and cheese in a box, I'll go with Nature's Promise Cheddar or Anne's Organic. Some of that Anne's organic stuff includes significant vegetable matter.

Even Aldi's generic mac and cheese will do in a pinch. My husband often adds a touch of cheddar to make it more appealing. But it will do.

Tonight, we tried Target's Archer Farm. First off, it was more expensive than what I would normally pay. But we wanted to see if it was worth it. Sometimes it pays to splurge as a treat, and sometimes it just proves you aren't missing anything by buying the cheap stuff.

We had two varieties: Buffalo Mac and Cheese and Smoky Bacon and Parmesan Entrée Mac and Cheese.

I could not resist Buffalo-sauce flavored mac and cheese.

The only differences between the two: the entree mac and cheese required a cup of milk and had 5 servings per box. The buffalo required no milk, a specific amount of water that the cheese sauce boiled in while you cooked the noodles and it only made 3 servings.

The Buffalo was too spicy for the child. It had a funny artificial cardboard-like aftertaste. I hated it. The noodles carried these weird flavor. The sauce, when I dabbed bread in it, was fine. I found the smoky bacon flavor bland, but edible. My husband thought it gritty. So he ate the Buffalo instead.

This led to the following status line on facebook:
" Angel Ackerman must make homemade mac and cheese. I'm thinking Gouda, cheddar, romano and maybe Chaumes. Expensive mac and cheese. But after tonight's taste test of Target's Archer Farms Mac and Cheese, if I must do a box, I'm sticking to Wegmans or Kraft."

My friends have already noticed. I'm plotting a Macaroni and Cheese night. I'll have each of my friends bring 8 ounces of their favorite cheese and whip them into funky gourmet mac and cheeses. Now THAT should be fun.