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Mac Attack! Kraft-Style Stove-Top Mac and Cheese

partysugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:21 -0700

When I was little my favorite meal was Kraft macaroni and cheese with slices of Ballpark hot dogs stirred in. Although I haven't had this dinner in years, I remember it fondly and sometimes crave an intensely creamy stove-top mac and cheese. I considered giving the old package a try, but the thought of powdered cheese made me cringe. That's why I decided to make my own version of Kraft's classic mac. Surprisingly, it's very quick and easy to put together and the resulting dish is comforting and nostalgic, yet a little more gourmet. To ensure a smooth rich texture, I combined Velveeta - what can I say, it's a guilty pleasure! - with a good-quality, extra-sharp cheddar. The mixture works wonderfully and from now on instead of reaching for a box, I'll reach for this recipe! To do the same, get it now and read more.

Kraft-Style Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Original Recipe

Although I used whole milk, you could probably substitute 1 or 2 percent and still have a thick orange sauce.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups small pasta shells
1 1/2 cups large pasta shells
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 ounces velveeta, diced
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon of hot sauce
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large saucepan of boiled water, cook the pasta shells until al dente, 8-10 minutes. Drain in a colander.
In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly for 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook, whisking until the mixture thickens, about 4-5 minutes.
Turn the heat to low and add the cheddar and velveeta in handfuls, whisking to melt. Stir until all the cheese is combined and
Season with the mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
Fold in the cooked pasta and stir well to coat all of the pasta with the sauce. Enjoy immediately.

Serves 4.

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Could America Be Facing a Sugar Shortage?

YumSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:30:30 -0700

If you've got a sweet tooth, you may be forced to reckon with a bitter truth. In a letter sent to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, several of the country's largest food companies, including General Mills, Kraft, Hershey, and Mars, said the United States could "virtually run out of sugar" if the government doesn't let up on sugar import limits.

To keep prices within reason for domestic sugar farmers, the government only allows unlimited sugar imports from the Mexican market without paying tariffs. Global shortages of the commodity have led to a skyrocket in price, culminating in a 28-year high this week. Sugar purchased from other countries, such as Brazil, is limited by a quota. If those restrictions aren't eased, food manufacturers say they'd be forced to hike prices, slash jobs - and run out of sugar to make items such as cereal, cookies, and chocolate. However, the USDA appears to be taking this plea with a grain of sugar, claiming early this week that domestic supplies were increasing.

With opposing interests, it's hard to know what to think. Who do you believe - and would America be better off with less sugar?

Kraft's Orange Slices Get Singled Out

YumSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:50:40 -0700

You may be impossibly in love with ricotta, feta, and manchego, but Kraft Foods is hoping you'll give its signature orange slices another chance. According to Advertising Age, the food company has begun a major push for Kraft Singles, its synthetic-cheese line of American, Swiss, and Cheddar cheese slices. Although the brand's natural cheese sales have declined amid the recession, processed cheeses such as Velveeta and Kraft Singles have helped to lift the segment's sluggish sales numbers. As a result, Kraft will continue to focus on marketing its Singles products with a grassroots promotion.

For its National Grilled Cheese Month Sweepstakes, Kraft has launched an ad hoc website that encourages consumers to write short essays about why they love Kraft Singles, so they can be entered into a weekly drawing for free packages of Kraft Singles.

Kraft is also backing the Seventh Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational. Organizers of the world's largest grilled cheese competition, which takes place in Los Angeles later this month, expect to turn out 5,000 grilled cheese sandwiches.

I don't know about you, but I've always felt that tough times foster cravings for less than wholesome yet insanely delicious childhood favorites. Kraft Singles have a particularly special place in my heart, so there's no doubt that within the next thirty seconds I will be professing my love for them on IHeartGrilledCheese.com. How do you feel about Kraft Singles? Do you think this promotion will catch on?

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Restaurants, Suffering From Poor Turnout, Look to Retail

YumSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:50:38 -0700

These days, chain restaurants are looking for any way to eke out a profit, from offering cheaper steaks to haggling with customers. But given the economic downturn, many are no longer expecting to fill tabletops at dinner - instead, they're counting on customers at the grocery store. Restaurants from Jamba Juice to California Pizza Kitchen and even Tony Roma's plan to introduce new licensed food products in the next year. Yesterday, Starbucks unveiled its new Super-Premium Ice Cream. The new line of ice cream, created in partnership with Unilever, is inspired by coffeehouse drinks with flavors like caramel macchiato and java chip.

Healthy drink chain Jamba Juice has been sorting through production and logistics on a ready-to-drink smoothie made by Nestle that will be carried in convenience stores in addition to supermarkets. Certain chains that already have licensed, branded items in grocery stores are looking to aggressively expand them. California Pizza Kitchen recently introduced flatbread sandwiches made in partnership with Kraft, and the company plans to expand its product line. Rib specialist Tony Roma's is also broadening its line of heat-and-serve meals beyond baby back ribs to include pulled pork, pot roast, and other items.

Since consumers are dining out less and eating in more, it makes perfect sense for restaurants to move in this direction, but if the past is any indicator, I've found licensed food products are usually nothing but a letdown. Do you feel the same way? Could you see this being the moneymaker for restaurant chains this year?

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Despite Other Rising Food Costs, Dairy Prices Have Fallen

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:15:12 -0800

From rising avocado prices to the McDonald's Dollar Menu falling on hard times, over the last year, every section of the food industry has paid the price of cost increases. One segment of the food world, however, seems to have taken an opposite turn.

Prices of dairy products have seen a downward trend, as the weakening global economy has caused demand to decrease for US exports like milk. This decline has hurt certain sectors, such as dairy farmers and cheese producers: The value of cheese has dropped 40 percent over the last month. On the other hand, quite a few companies have seen the silver lining of falling dairy prices. Companies like Kraft Foods and Hershey's, and chain stores such as Domino's Pizza and Starbucks Coffee expect higher costs to be offset by favorable prices of milk and cheese.

While Kraft and other companies wouldn't comment on future price cuts, the plummeting value of dairy could trickle down to the consumer segment. Does it come as a relief to hear that at least one aspect of the food industry is seeing cost decreases?

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Kraft Shredded Cheese Breakdown

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:00:00 -0800

I'm not going to lie to you - I love cheese. I use it all the time to add a hint of flavor, protein, calcium, and cheesy goodness to my foods. I honestly believe that cheese makes everything better. I also love anything that makes my life easier, so every week, I buy bags of shredded cheese to sprinkle on my salads, soups, sandwiches, pasta, and omelets.

When I walked down the dairy aisle, there's a huge variety of shredded cheeses, and I wondered how they compared nutritionally. So I decided to make this handy chart of Kraft shredded cheeses. For all the 8-ounce packages, the serving sizes varied between either seven, eight, or nine servings per bag. I did some calculations to make it easier to compare them, so all these numbers are based on 1-ounce serving sizes.

Serving Size = 1 ounce	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Mild Cheddar	112	9	6.8	25	33.8	1	6.8
Mild Cheddar Finely Shredded	110	9	6	25	180	1	6

To see the rest read more.

Serving Size = 1 ounce	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
2% Milk Reduced Fat Mild Cheddar	80	6	3.5	20	230	1	7
Sharp Cheddar	123.8	10	6.8	28	180	1	6.8
Sharp Cheddar Finely Shredded	110	9	6	25	180	1	6
2% Milk Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar	80	6	3.5	20	230	1	7
Fat-Free Cheddar	45	0	0	5	280	1	9
Organic Cheddar (6 oz. bag)	120	10	6	30	180	1	6
Low Moisture Mozzarella	80	5	3.5	15	200	1	7
Low Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella	80	5	3.5	20	220	1	6
2% Milk Reduced Fat Mozzarella	70	4	2.5	15	200	1	8
Fat-Free Mozzarella	45	0	0	5	340	2	8
Organic Mozzarella (6 oz. bag)	80	5	3.5	15	200	1	7
Mozzarella and Parmesan	90	6	4	20	210	1	6
Monteray Jack	100	8	5	25	190	1	6
Colby & Monteray Jack	100	8	5	25	190	1	6
Colby & Monteray Jack Finely Shredded	100	8	5	25	190	1	6
2% Milk Reduced Fat Colby & Monteray Jack	80	5	3.5	15	230	1	7
Cheddar & Monteray Jack	100	8	6	25	170	1	6
Swiss	110	8	5	25	60	1	7
Mexican Cheddar Jack	110	9	5	25	190	1	6
2% Milk Reduced Fat Mexican Four Cheese	80	5	3.5	15	240	1	7
Mexican Cheddar Jack With Jalapeno Peppers	110	9	5	25	190	1	6
Mexican Taco	105	8.8	6.1	26	210	.9	6
Italian Style Five Cheese	90	6	3.5	20	240	1	7
Pizza Four Cheese	90	7	4.5	20	220	1	6
Pizza Mozzarella & Cheddar	90	7	4.5	20	200	1	6

Love It or Hate It: Unusual Uses For Kool-Aid

YumSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:50:40 -0700

While watching television the other day, I saw a commercial for Kool-Aid that got me thinking. Kraft Foods, the food giant that makes the fruity punch powder of my youth, has embarked on a campaign to encourage different uses for the mix. Creative ideas include using Kool-Aid as a flavoring agent for plain yogurt or cupcake frosting, a color boost for cake, and even to turn tamales into dessert. Olé!

While I think it's great that Kool-Aid is trying to reinvent itself, a few of the ideas, such as the tamale, struck me as less than appealing. Would you ever experiment with any of the suggestions? If you have already, please share your Kool-Aid experience with us below!

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Have a Happy Sandwich

YumSugar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:18:11 -0700

Last Fall, Kraft ran a Happy Sandwich video contest, where they asked customers to create 15-second commercials. The commercials all had the theme "Happy Sandwich" - which is a grilled Kraft slice cheese sandwich - and the entries ranged from really fun to downright weird. The 383 entries were then judged and rated until a winner was chosen. That winner is Chris Gianelloni from Metairie, Louisiana and in addition to winning $50,000, he'll proudly be able to see his surreal video on national television. In it a cheese sandwich puts himself into a tanning bed and gets all gooey. It's cute enough, but if I saw this commercial on TV I would definitely do a double take. To see it for yourself, read more.

Burger King + Kraft = Mac n' Cheese To Go

YumSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:23:31 -0800

I'm usually pretty good at math, but something about that equation looks off. Mac n' Cheese is not usually something I think of when I think of easy to eat, fast food. However we're apparently in new math territory because that equation is true. This week Burger King is offering Kraft-branded mac and cheese in test markets. Although it is meant for kids, it's not going to be marketed directly to kids, seems like the marketers are smart enough to know that adults like mac and cheese too.

The product will be shipped in frozen packages and then reheated in microwaves at Burger King. I guess it'll be nice to have the option, but headed to Burger King just for mac and cheese seems a bit crazy, especially since it's essentially microwaved food. Although it will be a microwaved product created specifically for Burger King.

So, have you seen mac and cheese at your Burger King? Would you buy it if you did?

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You Interested in a Bag Full of Bagel-Fuls?

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:08:31 -0800

If you're looking for ways to cut time from your morning routine, but instant oatmeal isn't your thing, then you may be interested to hear what Kraft has up their sleeves. Their new creation is called Bagel-Fuls and they're frozen bagels, which are pre-stuffed with cream cheese. The product - which is being referred to as a "hand-held breakfast sandwich" - will hit shelves in April, and will be introduced through a national ad campaign. I'm not sure how the bagels are heated, but I'm really curious to see what they're all about. On one hand it sort of terrifies me, but on the other hand it fascinates me. What do you think? Would you be interested in a Bagel-Ful?

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