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When I first moved out of my parent’s home and into my own apartment in the early 1980s (a small studio apartment with a very, very tiny kitchen and a very tiny fridge, with nearly no counter space and very little cabinet space – not very contusive to cooking), I used to buy boxed mac & cheese all the time, and the store brand in fact – 6 boxes for $1 back (sometimes 8 for $1 if on sale. :), That and 10 packs for a $1 ramen noodles meant that I had a bit more money to spend for fresh vegetables and fruits¸ salad greens, and these “meal stretchers” along with sometimes eating cheap but not too heavy in sugar cereal or some plain oatmeal with some fresh fruit and plain yogurt or skim milk for dinner, kept me from going hungry and greatly stretched my food dollars.

At the time, keep in mind that I was working 10 or more hours a day (sometimes 12+ hours a day - the 17 hour shift was not unusual), 6 days a week, sometimes 7, but was not making all that much money, so not only did I have a tight budget, I didn’t have a lot of time or energy to shop or cook back then. But as I was working so much, often standing on my feet and stocking shelves, walking and moving and lifting all day long, so I certainly burned off all the carbs. Actually I’m sort of in the same boat now days; not money wise or burning off the carbs wise, but certainly time wise and having not so good or functional kitchen wise ; ( .

I used to supplement the cheap boxed mac & cheese with various and not too expensive additions to make it varied and interesting while still being quick and easy and most of all cheap and filling; meals that really helped stretch my meager budget. When added to that, a simple salad (some iceberg lettuce and some tomato and cucumber with a light dressing) and or a fruit like a cut up apple or banana or some grapes, it wasn’t really a bad or unhealthy meal.

Some of the mac & cheese meals I used to make:

Boxed Mac & Cheese, a jar of store brand on sale spaghetti sauce, (sometimes with some added Italian seasoning or some browned Italian sausage, only if I could afford it, hot dogs if I couldn’t), some shaker parm cheese = “Mac & Cheese Italiano”= at least 2 -3 dinners.

Boxed Mac & Cheese, a can of store or generic brand chili, some canned jalapenos, some cheap block jack cheese that I shredded myself (and I looked for the discount rack in the dairy section for cheese about to go out of date) = “Mac & Cheese Mexicana” = at least 2 -3 dinners.

Boxed Mac & Cheese, some diced ham (and I would often buy the cheap “ends” at the deli counter), or a can of store brand “Spam, a half bag of frozen broccoli (the other half to be used for another meal), 1 to 2 chopped hard boiled eggs and a small can of chopped pineapple = “Mac & Cheezy Hawaiian-Eazy Luau” = at least 2 -3 dinners

Boxed Mac & Cheese, cut up store brand hot dogs (or even cheaper turkey dogs), some store brand BBQ sauce = “Mac & CheeBQ” = at least 2 -3 dinners

Boxed Mac & Cheese, a can of tuna (or imitation crab meat), a half bag of frozen peas, Old Bay Seasoning to taste = “Mac & Cheezypeake - Maryland Style” = at least 2 -3 dinners.

Boxed Mac & Cheese, leftover turkey or chicken diced and some diced ham, fresh or frozen spinach, a sm. container of sour cream, a dash of nutmeg and or paprika, put in baking dish topped with bread crumbs made from day old stale bread bought on the discount rack = “Mac & CheDon Blu” = at least 2 -3 dinners

I used to tell people that I was going to get rich one day by writing a cook book – “101 Things To Do With Boxed Macaroni and Cheese – A Single Girls’ Guide To Not Starving”. LOL!

And my favorite, that FWIW, something I still make sometimes even now (it is for me a go to comfort food):

2 boxes Mac & Cheese, sautéed onions & garlic cloves (I like lots of garlic so I use at least two to three cloves), lean ground beef browned with the onions and garlic and draining off the excess fat, a large can of mushroom stems and pieces, Season All or Emeril's Essence (or whatever spice blend you like). Cook the boxed mac & cheese (and these days I buy the whole grain mac & cheese) but omit the milk and only use half the butter and stir together with the other ingredients, and then add just enough milk and or some low fat sour cream to make it not too dry. Put in a generously buttered baking dish and top with shredded cheddar cheese and top with chopped fresh parsley and mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and a few dots of butter. Bake until hot and bubbly and slightly browned on top. YUM!

FWIW, I like to cook and am from what I’ve been told, am a very good cook and a quite adventurous cook when it comes to trying new things and recipes, all types of cuisines, but am also a cook who knows how to cook the good old fashioned, totally from scratch meals that I grew up with – soups, stews, roasts, homemade lasagna (and yes with from scratch lasagna noodles) and I can bake too- cakes and pies from scratch, all types of breads from scratch, and I know how to make some killer homemade mac & cheese, but I’m not so much of a food snob that I am above going to the Kraft Mac & Cheese in a pinch.