jmcquown wrote:

>
> The funny thing is the boxed stuff takes about the same time and equipment,
> which is why I never understood the boxed stuff. You still have to boil the
> pasta; you still have to strain it. You still need a pan to mix the milk
> and butter in with the powdered "cheese". And then stir it into the cooked
> macaroni. If you're like me, you'll want to bake it, not eat it from the
> stove-top mixture. So yes, that means you'll add some buttered crumbs on
> top. Maybe even add some diced ham or bacon or (gasp!) ground beef! But
> even if you don't opt to bake it, the steps are the same as when using the
> boxed mix, so why not just make it from scratch rather than use powdered
> cheese? The only reason I can think of is it's less expensive, which these
> days means a lot to me. But I'm still going to make my own macaroni &
> cheese, thanks. (Sorry, Michael!)
>
> Jill
>
>

When I make blue box it's just one pan, half a stick of butter or less and the
bowl to eat it from, a wooden spoon and a fork.
When I make homemade I need the pan for the noodles and the pan for the cheese
sauce and the casserole dish to bake it in. Blue box takes me 15 minutes from
start to finish to make, scratch takes 30 minutes or more just to assemble and
then 40 minutes in the oven. I also end up dirtying multiple bowls, the food
processor, wooden spoons and whisks. I need to have cheese, milk, eggs, flour,
butter and noodles on hand for scratch and just butter for blue box.

I'm not saying blue box is better, but it truly is more convenient, has fewer
steps, fewer ingredients needed and less clean up. I love homemade but it's
definitely a production.

--
..:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com
I thought I was driving by Gettysburg once but it ends up I was just driving
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