mac n' cheese soup

You wouldn't believe how long it took for me to decide how to write mac n' cheese. I couldn't decide if it was mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese, mac 'n' cheese, mac n' cheese, or mac 'n cheese...you get the picture! Well I decided to go with mac n' cheese, but no capitals, because Mac n' Cheese looked funny to me. Anyway, my sister is coming into town tomorrow and I am super excited! I wanted to share one quick recipe with you before the weekend because I'm not sure that I will do much blogging in the near future.

This soup is very simple to make, velvety smooth, cheesy, and delicious. While I often prefer to make food from scratch, sometimes convenience wins the battle. And I know that this is likely going to make all my fellow purist food bloggers cringe, but this soup uses boxed macaroni and condensed soup! I know I know, gasp and shun me for a few days, but it sure was tasty!

I know this soup could easily be made from scratch, and that is my next endeavor. But the fact is, we are all human, and besides, a little processed food once in a while won't kill you! Have a nice weekend!

mac n' cheese soup (Print)
from Pampered Chef
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

1 box macaroni mix
1 cup water
4 ounces broccoli, chopped small
1/2 cup white onion, diced small
2-1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1 (10-3/4 ounce) condensed cheese soup
1 cup cooked ham, cubed

1. In a medium saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions and set aside. Cook only the pasta, don't add the cheese pouch, milk or butter. Save the cheese pouch.

2. In the same saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add broccoli and onion and boil for 2 mintues.

3. Add the macaroni, cheese pouch, milk, condensed soup, and ham. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

Note: I actually didn't have any ham, so I left that out and it was still delicious!

NUTRITION FACTS: (1-1/3 cup equals) 380 calories, 14 g fat, 1438 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

My Review

• Preparation: 5
• Very fast and easy, start to finish.
• Taste: 4
• This soup was very good. I added some ground pepper to my bowl and that made it even better. As I mentioned before, I would like to make a similar soup from scratch, but the velvety texture from the condensed soup will be hard to beat.
• Cost: 5
• Clean-up: 5
• Just one pan!
• Changes
• As mentioned above
• Summary
• This soup is simple, satisfying, and a great way to get the kiddos to eat some green! Because who can say no to mac n' cheese?