Friday, April 26, 2013

#6 Thick 'n Creamy

One would expect this Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Thick n' Creamy dinner to be be a step up from their original pasta. Oddly enough it kind of was. The pasta was on steroids! No, these weren't cooked until they quadrupled in size, they were gigantic to begin with.

Add in the cheddar flavoring, butter, and milk and then you're ready to enjoy the Grey Poupon of mac n' cheeses. Nope, wrong answer. I'll admit, I was unable to prepare this as suggested... I no longer believe in 2% milk as it called for.

The flavor was good, but the sauce was unable to cling to the oversized pasta. The ratio of cheesy goodness to pasta was off. Based on my incorrect preparation, I have to rank it at #6. A bit unfair, but we all can't be master chefs now can we?

Friday, April 19, 2013

#7 Three Cheese Veggie Pasta

What better way to consume some of your daily vegetables, than by having them masked by the cheesy goodness of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese? Using the traditional macaroni shape, they sneakily built in 1/2 serving of veggies per serving.

Broccoli and cheese usually go together well, so why not cauliflower based pasta? They're cousins, right, the little green trees and white trees? Add some three cheese flavoring to it and presto, we've got the perfect combination.

As you can tell, with a ranking at #7, they had a great theory, but it didn't play out well in my book. To my surprise the downfall was the three cheese flavoring. My tastebuds couldn't handle the Cheddar Explosion and they sure as heck were confused with three cheeses in one powdery mix. Sorry, but this promising combination falls in at #7.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

All Phalanges and Eyebrows Intact

It was nice to have a productive weekend, and I'm happy to report, as the post headline states, all phalanges and eyebrows are intact!

I enjoyed a relaxed and fun game night Friday. The worst injury I could have sustained would have been a papercut from the cards we were playing with.

Saturday I tried to recover from my late night evening of caffeine which had resulted in a severe lack of sleep. My motivation to start some spring cleaning in the basement was Mom. We geared up with lunch and then got to work. Vacuumed, partially organized, and sorted for donations. Anyone need a game?

Today was the dangerous day. Mom and Dad had 4 dead pine trees chopped down on their property this week and asked Tom, Laura, and I to come over today to help cleanup.

Step 1: Tom and I hacking the trees apart with a couple chainsaws.

Step 2: Loading up Grandpa's trailer with the debris.
 
Step 3: Burn the branches and tend to the hottest fire ever.

Here's how I took in the fire. From the safety of the workshop. I let the pyromaniacs, Laura and Tom, set everything ablaze.

Friday, April 12, 2013

#8 Madagascar3 Shapes

If you read about Spongebob landing at #9, then you'll understand why Madagascar3 shapes follow at #8. What was nice about this NEW version of cartoon pasta was that it contained double the calcium of the regular Kraft Macaroni & Cheese dinners.

But the chunky shapes of the animal heads left much to be desired. Once again the center of the pasta was not nearly as tender as I would have liked. This box itself was a step up. Can you say word scrambles? Entertainment as I ate!

Stay tuned, #7 is up next and it might surprise you!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

My First Week of Spring

The weather cooperated quite nicely this past week and I took some time to get out with some friends and even do a bit of work in the yard.

Last weekend I met Laura and Tom at Bradley park to play this season's first round of frisbee golf. It's always a bit dangerous to use this course to try to get the rust off. But then again, it wouldn't be the same without a little adventure.

I forgot to bring my floating discs with me, so thank goodness I landed in the shallow stream. Also kind of nice to have a brother with long arms.

Did we lose a disc?

Nope, we just had to be patient and let the current bring Tom's disc to us.

Time to do a little spring cleaning on the ole car. Just a few Sparky nose prints to take care of.

Thursday was opening day for the Peoria Chiefs baseball season. This diehard Cubs fan may not go to as many games now that they are a Cardinals affiliate, but it's sure not going to stop me from having a little fun at the game.

An event would not be complete without a caffeine consumption photo with an Angell.

 Amy and I rocking fun stocking caps. Perry the Platypus and the one and only Scooby Doo.

And what will a Scooby Doo hat on an over-exuberant adult fan get you? Well, when the kids located in front of you go a on a dessert run, you get a foul ball.

Extra innings and a wait for the fireworks left Kristin and I as the last two standing in our bunch.

Friday, April 5, 2013

#9 Spongebob Squarepants Shapes

As you may have figured out, I'm a kid at heart. So cartoon shaped pasta should be right up my alley. But you can't judge a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese by the box, even if the box has collectable cards on the back with Spongy Trivia.

I should probably explain how I like my mac n' cheese. There's a term, al dente, that means the pasta is boiled until firm but not hard. Yep, prefer my pasta be the opposite of that. Let the shapes expand to capacity and rescue prior to them mushing into nothingness.

To keep a level playing field with this challenge and countdown, I prepared the meals with approximately the same amount of time in the boiling water. Spongebob Squarepants was at a severe disadvantage being rectangularly shaped. The center must have been what people call al dente, and I would consider chewy. Good traditional flavor, but chewy pasta drops ya to the bottom of the list.