Wednesday, January 08, 2014

The cheesy meltdown of 2014 --- i.e. the impending Velveeta shortage



So everyone, ok maybe not everyone, but quite a few people have posted about the impending Velveeta shortage, I thought it would be helpful to set the collective minds at ease. 

Wait for it…. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CHEESE SAUCE!

I know it seems like it would be impossible, but almost every processed food product that you can buy started as a real recipe in someone’s kitchen. Twinkies are sponge cakes with a cream filling, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was made in grandma’s kitchen without all the chemicals and fluorescent colors (BTW kudos to Kraft for taking the artificial colors out of some of their products).

Back to cheese… cheese sauce is fairly simple to make because it is basically cheese gravy. Yep you read that right… cheese gravy (don’t those words just seem to flow together?).
This concept applies to cheese sauce for nachos/fries, vegetables, pasta, etc. 

 Image courtesy of joephotostudio/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Cheese Sauce
Use this cheese sauce on vegetables, pasta, or use in other dishes.

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

    3 tablespoons butter
    3 tablespoons flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
    1 1/2 cups milk
    1 cup grated sharp Cheddar or smoky flavor Cheddar cheese

Options: Cumin (smoky flavor), smoked paprika (will color the sauce, but brings a smoky heat), 
jalapeno (diced or dried), your choice of hot sauce

Preparation:

Melt butter; remove from heat. Stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add milk, stirring until well mixed. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Cook for 5 minutes longer; add cheese. Stir until smooth and well blended. Serve with pasta or vegetables.
Makes 2 cups.

Go Broncos!!! Trace

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

One of the first recipes I ever learned in my Mom's kitchen was a white sauce. This recipe without the cheese is just that . Adding the is the base we use for baked macaroni and cheese. I add tich of dry mustard for a bit of extra zing. This is a terrific base recipe for any kithchen.