Awesome Instant Mac

I am a snob about many things. Music, movies...fabric. But not food. Okay, maybe a little bit food, but not in a really patronizing "everyone has to do this or else they are worthless peasants" kind of way. I want my food to be plentiful, taste good, and be good for me. In that order.Frankly, I think everyone deserves those things, in that order. So a lot of my food is altering classic convenience foods to make them more interesting.

Start with your favorite brand of Mac and Cheese. I like Annies, but I also happen to live near a BJ's that carries it, so its affordable. Collect your additions. I prefer tuna (albacore or chunk light) green peas and either shallots or green onions.

Chop up the shallot, roughly is fine. I'm not a mincer. I just don't have the patience.

Prepare your noodles according to package directions, then drain.

Rinse the pot well, then put it back on the heat, medium high, and add your fat-of-choice, Olive oil, butter, margarine, whatever. I won't judge ;)

Add shallots and saute until translucent.

Throw in the peas now if they are frozen. If they are canned...blech. Mainly because canned peas are always greying, and always taste like the can. If thats what you have available, I'm sorry, because they taste awful. If you have fresh, wait on this step and add the peas near the end. Dried peas can be prepped ahead of time and added now, though they will get mushy. Its the nature of the beast.

Mix your cheese sauce outside of the pan first to get rid of the lumps.

Dump it in and bring to a low simmer.

Mix your pasta back into the sauce, then mix in your protein.

Then consume the awesome. I also like to make this with leftover chicken breast, kale and garlic, though that's better with the white cheddar mac.