How to Reheat Mac and Cheese

Author : Efrain Silva

Do you sometimes bite off just a little more than you can chew? Well, if you do, then join me in a discussion and let’s be friends - I tend to do the same thing myself, over and over again. I eat with my eyes and not with my mouth, an old saying my dad always used to tell me, meaning that not all that glitters is really gold (in other words, you should put less on your plate than you think you are going to eat, and then if still hungry, add more). I’ve done this with my mac and cheese so many darn times that it’s frustrating - in fact, instead of just making some of it, and then carefully closing the box and putting it away, I have tended to pour the whole box in and cook the whole thing at once, much to my surprise finding that I can’t eat another bite once I’m full (with plenty of good mac and cheese still left over).

My dilemma - do I throw it away? (I would feel so bad doing so.) Do I re - heat? Can I re - heat, though? Ay, caramba!

So first of all, I find that re - heating the mac and cheese in an oven or mini - oven is actually way better than in a microwave. You can also re - heat in a stovetop. Anyways, microwaves tend to heat away the original elements (including the nutritious ones) in the food itself, the more times you re - heat, meaning, the more times the food loses its flavor and even nutritional properties. Ovens are much healthier and more conventional, anyways, in my opinion.

When putting it in the oven to re - heat, put the mac and cheese right over an empty plate that has a small block of butter / oil on the bottom (or you can even put the butter / oil on top of the mac and cheese) so that when things get hot, that melts deliciously right into the mac and cheese. You can also drop a couple chopped up pieces, here and there, of your favorite cheeses to throw some new flavor back in and —- if you are really up for it — a piece or two of jalapenos. If you do not eat too much spicy, you can dilute and degrade the intensity of the jalapenos by simply squeezing some lemons right on them (acidic content is known to reduce spiciness in very hot & spicy foods, did you know that?).

You can also put a few drops of your favorite chili sauce in there before heating it up, or even ketchup. If anything is too spicy, just squirt that lemon over the food or even throw a couple or broken - up orange pieces in there (thank God for the gift of citrus, in calming down spicy flavors). That way, you can eat re - heated mac and cheese and not have it taste like it’s been re - heated or is a plain leftover from the last meal.