Thinking Outside The Boxed Mac And Cheese

I’ve had the flu this week, so the peak of my culinary demands have rated somewhere around canned chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers.  I tend to add some cayanne pepper and a pinch of dill to add a bit of taste to that.  But I’m on the mend today and was in the mood for something a bit more interesting, though not taxing.  One of my other staple sick foods is boxed mac and cheese.  It’s probably one of those shameful things that foodies shouldn’t admit.  But hey, I live in small town Mississippi.  I can’t afford to be a pure 100% foodie here.  Anyway, I wanted something with some more taste.  I can’t say that this is anything astounding, but it was fairly tasty to my medicated taste buds.

Ingredients:

• 1 box mac and cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 4 oz. smoked pulled pork, warmed in the microwave
• 1/2 tsp smoked Hungarian paprika
• fresh ground pepper
• kosher salt
• milk

Directions:

1. Salt the water and bring it to a boil.
2. Add the pasta.  Return to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
3. When about five minutes remain to the cooking time, add frozen peas.
4. Once pasta is al dente, drain.
5. Add the roasted red peppers, warmed pork, paprika, the cheese powder from the mac and cheese, a splash of milk, and ground pepper to taste.  Mix well.

You could vary this by adding any vegetable, meat, or spice you feel like.  I’d try it with sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, and fresh basil.