Old-Fashioned Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese Plus Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

The ice cream picture got your attention, didn’t it! More about that later, but right now I want to share some 1950’s food history from my house, the one I lived in as a child.

When I was a kid, we ate meatloaf and casseroles weeknights. On weekends, Sundays in particular, we indulged in an inexpensive cut of beef or a whole roasting chicken baked in the oven while we were at church. Accompanying each meal was potatoes, mashed or simply cut up and boiled, plus a can of vegetables, usually peas or carrots, often peas and carrots mixed.

Mom’s cooking. Comfort foods.

Most of all there was Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese.

VELVEETA MACARONI AND CHEESE

Ingredients...

2 cups cooked elbow macaroni (1-1/2 cups or less of dry pasta)
1/4 cup butter, divided (3 T./1 T.)
1/4 cup flour, all purpose or whole wheat
1 cup milk (I used skim because it’s what I have in the refrigerator)
1/2-pound (8 oz.) Velveeta, a "Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product”
6 Ritz crackers, crushed

Directions...

1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.

2. Stir in flour with a whisk or a fork. Stir 2-3 minutes.

3. Gradually stir in milk and continuing stirring until boils and thickens.

4. Add cheese cubes and stir till melted.

5. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in microwave (10-15 seconds). Mix in cracker crumbs.

6. Pour mac and cheese mixture into oiled or butter casserole dish and top with cracker mixture.

7. Bake in preheated 350-degree Fahrenheit oven 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

The Velveeta makes this a very salty dish, so there is absolutely no need to use additional salt.

As an adult, I’ve wondered why we didn’t eat salads in my childhood home. One day it came to me, that was back in the days of Iceberg Lettuce. I can see it now. Each of us had a small salad plate with a big wedge of iceberg topped with a generous helping of Homemade Thousand Island Dressing.

I will NOT eat iceberg now ~ dull taste and no nutritional value ~ so the lettuces you're seeing pictured here are Romaine and Leafy Green.


THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

Mix...
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup (or less) ketchup
1-2 T. pickle relish

As usual, I was missing an ingredient. In this case, it was the relish, so I substituted two (2) Kosher dill pickle slices, finely chopped.

Moving back to the present, here in 2012, I’ve discovered a wonderful recipe from Bam’s Kitchen. There are just four ingredients in Bam’s Orange-Coconut-Cardamon Ice Lollies and they truly do melt in your mouth! While you’re in Bam’s Kitchen getting this recipe, cruise around and see what else catches your fancy.

Instead of popsicle molds, I used 5 ounce Dixie cups. And, in place of popsicle sticks, I used colorful plastic kids utensils.

I used a photo of ice cream to get your attention. It worked, didn’t it! For the first time ever, I bought a container of “shell”, the chocolate (in this case, chocolate-peanut butter) that you pour on something frozen like ice cream and it freeze, too.

Vanilla ice-cream, chocolate-peanut butter shell and candy sprinkles. It even looks appealing in black and white.

FISH STICKS, SPAGHETTI SQUASH, TOMATOES AND PEAS

My supplies of winter squashes includes two spaghetti squashes, two decorative acorn squashes and one pumpkin. I probably won't cook them all. The pumpkin is painted white and has a black spider web drawn on it. The acorn squashes are too pretty to do away with and I'd like to see them last as long as possible on my dining room table.

That leaves the acorn squash. Just over a month ago, I featured spaghetti squash topped with leftover Sloppy Jane Mix. Today I'm cooking and topping it differently.

My initial challenge, as with all of the winter variety, is that these guys are tougher than tough to cut! My method -- and you might want to try it -- is to get the knife started, then whack it with a rolling pin. I suppose a hammer would work just as effectively, but the rolling pin is already at hand in the kitchen.



CLICK AT THE SIDE OF ANY PHOTO TO SEE AN ENLARGED VERSION.





After cutting the fruit (yes, it is a fruit), I used a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Then I placed both halves in a pan, cut side up. There is no need to add water or anything else.



After cooking in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 40-50 minutes, I removed the squash from the oven and used a fork to test its doneness. That means turning the fork upside down and scraping it along the flesh. Unless under- or over-cooked, the spaghetti like strands will separate easily.



The final plating included breaded fish sticks, tomato slices (only one more left from my harvest), and peas (store-bought, frozen). I drizzled EVOO over the spaghetti squash and tomatoes, added a light touch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Oh, and I sprinkled a bit of dried basil on the tomato slices.



Simple and satisfying. Leftover spaghetti squash is freezable, but better refrigerated and used up in the next few days.

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In the coming weeks...
Indian carrot pudding, chicken stir fry, apple-raisin bars, chocolate chip-cranberry cookies, eggplant lasagna, gluten-free/dairy-free brownies, salmon with curried lemon sauce, Santa Fe salmon, tofu-apple stir fry, tofu-chicken stir-fry, coconut cake, no-bake cookies w/coconut. That's what's saved on the computer. Who knows what I'll decide to make in the meantime.

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Step by Step in the Kitchen is now on Facebook. Take a look and "Like" the page. I'll be posting extra notes and photos there.

and

Visit my other blog ~ Corning NY Step by Step, a pictorial view of the City of Corning NY.