Last night I was absolutely stumped about what to make for dinner, and nothing take-out wise sounded good. So I relied on an old favorite. While I was making it, I remembered how easy it is to do so I thought I’d share.

This only takes about 15 minutes total and a single sauce pan. There’s no need for a colander because the cooking boils off any excess water. It makes about 4 servings (depending on how much you’re eating ^_^).

Ingredients

• 1 box of macaroni & cheese. It can be the cheap store-brand kind, or you can go with Kraft kind. If you’re feeling really fancy, you can get the kind that comes with actual cheese sauce instead of powder, but it’s not necessary.
• 1 can of your favorite broth-based soup. Don’t get the Campbell’s condensed soup. This needs to be a larger can. Our favorite kinds are the spicier soups like chicken tortilla or gumbo. You could also go with a chicken noodle or a beef-stew or anything else that looks tasty.
• 1/2 cup of your favorite corn chips, crushed. Our favorite is Doritos Sweet & Spicy, but last night I went with plan corn chips (because that’s what we had) and they worked just as well.
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 stick butter

Preparation

• Empty the soup into the sauce pan, plus half a soup can of water
• Empty the macaroni into the sauce pan
• Bring to a boil over high-heat, stirring frequently
• Reduce to medium heat, stirring frequently, for as long as the macaroni box recommends cooking it (we use the cheap kind so this is usually about 8 minutes)
• Reduce the heat to low and stir in the chips, cheese sauce/powder that came with the macaroni, milk, and butter. Stir until well mixed.

Remove it from the heat, dish it out, and you’re all done.

We usually have this as a meal all by itself because the meat, beans, and vegetables in the soup round it out nutritionally, but it also works as a side dish. Since you use your favorite soup and corn chips, it takes on whatever flavor strikes your fancy.