Lidls in our area has pretty good prices on cheese and some flavors are put on sale. Yesterday I got 6 packages of 12 oz shredded cheese in 3 flavors- Sharp, colby/jack, and italian blend. Plus 1 package of sliced swiss. That ends up being about 10 kinds of cheese. From these I made 8 packages of ready to use mac and cheese mix, just add pasta!
Using a scale (because I am somewhat OCD about duplicating a recipe once I like it) I took 3 oz from each bag, plus a slice of swiss and bagged them together. I added a half stick of butter and 1/4t salt and garlic powder. With some careful planning I even reused the bags,leaving 3oz in the bottom of each bag and mixing other kinds appropriately- but you still need an extra couple of 1qt bags.
I added labels with directions and placed them in a long cardboard box (recycled from Aldis) that perfectly fit that size bag and store them in the freezer. When needed, grab one bag of cheese and a box of pasta. Ready as fast as Kraft but so much better!
To make, I cook a 16oz box of pasta, adding only enough water to cover so there is no draining, then when it is done I dump in the bag of cheese and butter and stir to melt. Add milk as needed for desired liquidity. Once melted I turn it off and may sprinkle toasted buttered bread crumbs on top.
I typically use my rice/multicooker as it has a nonstick liner, requires little supervision and keeps it warm after cooking even when turned off. (Don't leave it on warm ,the bottom will brown or burn.)
I may add bacon, I get a supply from Golden Corral to-go whenever I am near enough, but that would increase the cost per meal.
Price breakdown:
| item | amount in package | cost per package | cost per recipe | amount used per recipe |
| colby jack | 12oz | 1.65 | $0.41 | 3oz |
| cheddar | 12oz | 1.79 | $0.45 | 3oz |
| italian blend | 12oz | 1.59 | $0.40 | 3oz |
| swiss | 10 slices/8oz | 1.65 | $0.09 | 1 slice |
| Butter | 16oz | 2.5 | $0.31 | 1 half stick |
| pasta | 16oz | 0.88 | $0.88 | 1 full box |
| final cost per meal | $2.54 |
This could probably be made in a thermal cooker, once I get the hang of pasta in a thermal cooker. Thermal cooking post coming soon...
