A guilty pleasure and a terrible mistake

Let's begin with the terrible mistake, shall we?  So, I wanted to get some sort of cooler or dinky alcoholic drink for thanksgiving that would be good. I have a weakness for coolers. If drinking something fruity and sweet is wrong then I don't want to be right. So I spotted some hard apple cider.

I love apple cider! And it's mixed in with the coolers! OH MAN! AWESOME! Well, not so much. Because apparently they taste like beer. And I may have gotten a little overzealous and bought two things of 6. I may get a little over excited sometimes.

Don't judge meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

So I tried to drink it but it was just too much and I knew I had to finish them off, so I made a simple syrup for sweetening tea or cocktails and added a bunch of it to the cider and voila. Saved! 

Simple syrup is just a cup of water, a cup of sugar, then bring it to a boil and when everything is dissolved, take it off the heat and bring it to room temp. It keeps for about a week in the fridge, covered. (I stuck mine in an empty sobe bottle)

 Ah yes. Oh yes. Okay maybe not that yes, but it's yes worthy. This will at least make them easier to drink, and I've learned my lesson. No more hard cider. It simply isn't as yummy as I thought it would be.

Anyway, on to the main event! My.. guilty pleasure.. I call it Queso Mac after the chili con queso we always have when we go to mexican restaurants. Now, I grew up hating processed cheese. I actually wouldn't touch grilled cheese sandwiches until I moved to texas because I was under the impression they would always be filled with nasty kraft singles. That's right, kraft singles lovers. I SAID NASTY. Something about them does not work for me. So anyway, no cheese whiz, no nothing. Ew @ processed cheese. Then I tried a package of velveeta macaroni and cheese. And I fell in like. Then I had some queso made with spicy sausage and rotel tomatos and chilis at the superbowl last year. And I fell in love. Now, I don't cook with it, though I probably wouldn't be afraid of it if I had to, but I do like to make this dish. It's not exactly high cuisine but it is a tasty meal.

Now, keep in mind, I only use a half a pound of ground beef because I prefer my noodle/meat ratio to be a specific way. Feel free to use a whole one but from the looks of it it would be pretty beefy. You'd almost be better off making it with 2 boxes of noodles. Aaaaaanyway. If you up the meat content don't forget to double or adjust the spices.

Half a pound of ground beef, a can of Rotel diced tomatos and chilis, and a package of original Velveeta mac.

Now, these are what I use: Garlic Powder, Cumin, Chili Powder and Zatarain's instead of salt. Onion powder also got used but it was busy doing who knows what with the Thyme and couldn't make it to the picture like THE REST OF THE FAMILY. *glare* 

You can use whatever spices you want, you can even not use any at all! It's really your choice, I just use those because it makes it more.. mexican..y. The rotel has plenty of flavor as it is. 

Queso Mac!

1 package of velveeta shells and cheese
1 can of rotel tomatos and chilis, mostly drained
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Zatarain's creole seasoning

First, set a pot of water to boil. As you set that on, start browning the meat. 

And apparently taking pictures of my red glowing burners causes them to turn purple. AWESOME. Don't mind my spillage on the side there. Sometimes spicing things gets crazy.

Now, by the time your meat is all spiced up and browned and nicely cooked, hopefully your water is boiling. If not, no biggie, put a lid on the pot, it'll boil faster. Also:

Don't forget to salt your pasta water! I mean it! Only HEATHENS don't salt their pasta water. And you're not a heathen, are you?

Don't answer that.

Add in the mostly drained can of rotel. A little liquid from inside is alright, it'll give it something to cook down in instead of just being dry in the pan. Stir that up and cook it while your noodles are boiling for the mac. If it gets a little dry, just add a tiny bit of water to it, you don't want it to be soupy, just not bone dry. Mine cooked for the entirety of the shells cooking, about 9 minutes.

Now drain your pasta. I always add the cheese sauce to the hot pot while the pasta drains to start it on its way to melty goodness.

Mmmmm. Yeah, that looks pretty gross. 

Then add the pasta back into the pot and mix up nice and good!

Oh yes, processed cheese never had it so good. Then you dump in the meat mixture! And you stir it! And then you stop yourself from eating it out of the pot!

Mmmm. It is really really good, and I love it. Quick, easy and full of flavor. Don't hate on velveeta. It has its uses. 


Today and tomorrow I'm making a few dishes to add to the Thanksgiving table on thursday. A jellied salad, which I haven't made or consumed since.. wow, forever. And an attempt at a green bean casserole that has a yummy cheese sauce in it and NO YUCKY MUSHROOM SOUP. That's right. I hate mushrooms. Wanna fight about it? Yes? Oh god. *runs*