Upgraded Kraft Mac N Cheese
photo by Caroline Cooks
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Serves:
-
5
ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) package Kraft macaroni and cheese (dinner, blue box)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1⁄2 cup sour cream
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper or 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 butter flavored crackers, crushed (like Ritz)
- 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine, melted
directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Prepare Mac n Cheese dinner as directed on package.
- Stir in 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese, the sour cream and pepper.
- Spoon into greased 1-1/2 quart baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.
- Combine the melted butter and cracker crumbs and sprinkle over the top.
- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
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I really wanted to doctor up the box of mac 'n cheese I had but was disappointed when I discovered I only had vanilla flavored almond milk left! I didn't even have sour cream, but I had a little over a 1/2 cup of french onion dip, and some panko bread crumbs. So, I decided to nix the milk and use the dip adding some water to add creaminess to the base. I chose black pepper and the results were amazing! The panko with butter baked so crunchy and I had extra sharp cheddar which was so good. That surprise flavor of the onion dip was really good.
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Very delicious. We make this all the time. It's very easy to adapt. We like to ad cream cheese and/or sour cream, a little spicy brown mustard, and whatever cheese we have on hand. Sometimes we ad ground beef, ground turkey, sliced ot dogs or bacon, but its the rits topping on the top that makes it sooo good.
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Tweaks
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So today while putting my 15 month old down for a nap, I asked myself what am I going to make my picky little munchkin for for lunch. The first thing that quickly popped up in my mind was mac and cheese. I had quite a few boxes of Kroger box mac and cheese, but if I really wanted baby to eat, I knew I had to put some FLAVA in it. I followed your recipe, but added some extra to it. Since I cooked my noodles through not paying attention, instead of adding the cheese seasoning I added velveeta cheese, milk, butter, sour cream, shredded cheddar and parmesan cheese. I also added a little garlic salt into my boiling water for my noodles. I did not add the red pepper flakes though. It turned out so delicious and my baby was full and satisfied. I am learning more about cooking, but the more I research and try, I get my own little ideas and add my own tweaks. Thank you for this life saver recipe! Oh! and those ritz bitz crackers was a A+ Lady.
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Was very good but a little dry (my fault!) I added the full cup of cheese and mixed rather than have mixed in and 1/2 on top. Was still good, just extra cheesy! LOVED the cracker-crumb topping. Will use Ritz crackers for toppings instead of saltines when needed, gives it a buttery taste. Will make again; with2 small boys we have mac and cheese frequently so this will be a 'fancy' change. Made for Cookbook Tag 2010.
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I used two 7.25 boxes. Boiled noodles separately, al dente, set aside. Continued box recipe with butter, milk and cheese packets. Stirred in 2/3 sour cream and half cup cheese. Folded noodles back in. Poured half in a buttered dish and layered 1/2c cheese on top. Poured remaining half of mixture and added another 1/2c on top. Mixed 1T butter and 10 ritz crackers to make crumbles drier and then sprinkled on top. Baked for 25-30 minutes because 20 minutes didn't brown it enough. This is pretty good but in no way as good as from scratch and pretty much the same if not more steps.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
jaynine
United States