Meaty Baked Mac and Cheese

Welcome to the “Small Town Gourmet” recipe category.  Many of these are a nostalgic remembrance from my childhood in midwest small-town America.  These magical concoctions served up by my mother and grandmother on shoestring budgets would feed a hungry flock and sometimes leave a little left over for our lunch boxes the next day.  Casseroles were a foundational part of our weekly menu. They were simple, often quick, and always satisfying.

This first offering used to be a family favorite.  We would chuckle about the military grade ingredient list, but never before licking our plates clean!  It comes almost entirely from “the box,” and when I was a little girl it would serve an entire family for about $2.00.  The cost has increased a little, but if you catch the right sales, you can still pull this one together for around $5.00 and maybe half an hour of work.

Meaty Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

1 Cup – Frozen Peas

1 Box (7.25 oz.) – Macaroni and Cheese Dinner

½ Cup – Milk

¼ Cup – Butter or Margarine

1 Can (10.5 oz.) – Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Can (12 oz.) – Spam (or generic equivalent)

Preparation

• Place peas in a colander rinse and let drain
• In a medium saucepan, bring 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil.  Add macaroni and cook until done
• Add about 1 cup of cold water to stop the cooking process and pour the macaroni into the colander with the peas.  Let drain
• Once drained pour macaroni and peas back into saucepan
• Add milk, butter, cheese mix, and mushroom soup and mix well
• Spread contents evenly into a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish
• Cut Spam into 12 equally sized slices and place over macaroni mixture in three rows of four slices
• Place baking dish in a 350-degree oven and bake for 15-25 minutes until Spam has browned
• Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes

 Serve

• This dish is a meal by itself
• Serve with a side of bread and butter and a glass of cold milk

Tips

• You can add salt and pepper if desired, but I find the combination has enough flavor by itself
• I get (relatively) even slices of Spam by halving it, then halving those two halves, and then cutting the four pieces into thirds
• Try not to get between a hungry child and this dish – you could lose a finger!

Enjoy!

Kate