How to Make Easy Mac (taste good)

So, this blog has kind of turned into more of a personal blog than a food blog, which is partially because I keep getting food from the cafeteria, rather than making it myself. So, I'm going to try to get back to the old style of things by making my own food as often as possible again (and using my food points to get ingredients at the cafeteria instead of full meals, as often as possible). Today's recipe: Easy Mac.

I tried eating Easy Mac by following the instructions and anyone who's had it before can tell you, it's quite disgusting. It tastes nothing like normal craft mac n' cheese (possibly because it contains none of the same ingredients). So, I did a little research online and found some helpful hints on making Easy Mac edible (Yahoo Answers). A compilation of everything I found that actually sounded edible, turned into this:
First, soak the noodles in warm water (however warm you can get your tap water to become) for about 2 minutes. This will slightly soften the noodles, but most importantly get all the milk powder and other disgusting stuff off the noodles.Be sure to fill the water up to the "Fill to Here" line, to ensure that all the noodles are being properly soaked.

Next, strain the noodles. This is where the strainer I picked up (in Why I Should Pay Attention to Warning Signs) comes in handy.

Then, fill the cup to just below the "Fill to Here" line using ACTUAL MILK (which can be picked up from your cafeteria, if you don't happen to have milk in your fridge).

From here on, comes the hard part. Unfortunately, in order to make Easy Mac taste good, it no longer gets to be easy. However, it's still a single serving of mac n' cheese that you can make on your own (which is the important part anyway).

Microwave the cup for about 30 seconds. Then stir.

Then another 30 seconds. And stir.

Another 30 seconds. Stir.

And yet again, 30 seconds. Stir.

Continue this until the noodles are soft enough to your taste. *NOTE: the milk will eventually start to bubble over. For this reason, try to let it cool completely between each round of microwaving, microwave for no more than 30 seconds at a time, and keep LOTS of paper towels handy. Also, be sure to watch it carefully. Once it starts bubbling over, take it out and clean up the mess immediately. Let it cool completely as you clean the mess because you'll probably need to put it back in for at least another 15 seconds after this point. Try to limit how much you let it boil over, though, because you do want to keep as much of the milk as possible.

Once the noodles are soft enough to your liking, immediately add all of the cheese packet, and stir completely so that there are absolutely no chunks of cheese powder (these taste disgusting, so avoid them like the plague).

Allow it to cool and let stand until it is thickened.

Then, eat, enjoy, and clean up the mess. Luckily, there's no bowl to clean up after this. Unluckily, the microwave will need to be washed thoroughly after you are done with it (I recommend doing this while you let it cool).

The final product should look something like this:

Easy Mac is still not the tastiest of mac n' cheese, but by following this preparation process, it is at least edible. Using the ones that come in cool shapes (mine were SpongeBob) makes your taste buds 10X happier. After all, ma n' cheese is a children's dish, so being a little silly with it is completely acceptable.
For more tips on how to make Easy Mac taste better, I recommend checking out the Yahoo Answers page I cited earlier, as well as this post by JPDsmiley.

Dorm Food

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Why I Should Always Pay Attention to Warning Signs

Today I was in the mood for a hot meal, but not in the mood for walking all the way to the cafeteria to buy some (partially because it's Monday and I'm tired and I'm lazy, but also partially because it's so darn hot that I don't want to do anything). Thus, I took a look at my food stock. Again, too lazy to make any real food, I decided to make a pre-prepared meal. I happened to buy one such item at the grocery store last week. Healthy Choices' Steak and Portebello Mushroom Noodles sounded appetizing at the time, and it wouldn't take up any room in my mini fridge. This should have been my first warning sign. Anything that contains meat but does not require refrigeration should be banned from my list of delectable items. But, of course, I wasn't thinking about that when I bought it, nor was I thinking about that when I made it. Instead, I thought FOOD, FOOD, FOOD. And that's basically all it was.

I couldn't even finish the whole thing, which was disappointed because I'm still hungry, but my taste buds are ruined for all future food. Seriously, it was awful. The noodles were tasteless and the sauce was pretty much just onion sauce. I kind of hate onions, so I wish the packaging had been more clear about the fact that it included pretty much just onions, with a few pieces of dried steak and sliced mushrooms. Perhaps, too, I should have been warned because it is supposed to be healthy for me. Healthy food just doesn't taste good. But this was what was on sale and, let's be honest, I'm always in the mood for steak, mushrooms, and pasta. Just not in this form.

If you like onions and honestly care about how healthy your food is, then maybe this is for you. But, for me, this was not a pleasant way to end my day.

Dorm Food

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