Deluxified White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

A pantry staple can be transformed, fortified and “deluxified” with a little ingenuity. A 0.77 cent box of macaroni & cheese dinner is gussied up and made “even more deluxe” with some fresh veg, some heat and BACON.

President’s Choice is a well known and trusted private label or store brand of Loblaw Companies Ltd in Canada. I would suggest that many of their products would exceed expectations and offer good to great value.
Another great, albeit more expensive, alternative would be Annie’s Shells & White Cheddar.
President’s Choice White Cheddar Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner is a personal favourite and can be found in my pantry pretty much all the time.
The taste of the White Cheddar is superior to “the other kind.” No ketchup needed or recommended here. And while I’ve often used a half box to serve as a quick, inexpensive lunch I more often add veg and protein to create a complete meal.
No ketchup needed or recommended here — your taste bud
Here’s one of my go to recipes for an inexpensive lunch (or dinner). Although, I often substitute the bacon with baked ham and the red onion with chopped scallions (green onion). Or I add chopped red, yellow or orange pepper and instead make this a meatless dish.
Deluxified White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
ingredients
- 1 box President’s Choice White Cheddar Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
- 1 tbsp butter or margarine
- ⅓ cup of milk
- 2 cups broccoli florets, washed & trimmed
- ⅓ cup red onion, chopped
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
- 2 tbsp sour cream
Fill large pot with cold water and a tbsp of salt if desired. Bring to a boil.
Over low heat fry bacon till crisp, then set aside on paper towels to remove excess fat.
Clean and prep broccoli and red onion.
Once water is boiling, prepare macaroni & cheese dinner as directed on package. About 1 minute before pasta is done add broccoli to pot. Don’t overcook broccoli — should remain crunchy, especially if leftovers are desired.
Drain macaroni and broccoli. Over low heat, add butter, milk and sour cream to pot then add macaroni & broccoli, red onion, red pepper flakes, chopped bacon and cheese packet. Stir to combine and heat through until sauce thickens.
Remove from heat and serve. Serves 2 as main. Enjoy.
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