Cookin’ Up Comfort with Kraft Shells & Cheese

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Now that I’ve been back at work for just over 3 weeks, I’m slowly getting used to being back in the office.  Files, client calls, and depositions are now my norm.  I’m even getting used to the commute again.  But what I can’t seem to get a handle on is the dinnertime rush.  Getting the kids after school, getting home, and getting dinner on the table in a reasonable amount of time totally stumps me on a regular basis.  Well, I can get the kids and get home, but to do dinner on top of all of that?  That’s significantly harder.  And to have dinner on the table before the kids start to meltdown?  Almost impossible.  While I was on maternity leave, I had time to plan out meals, go back tot he grocery store multiple times, and make a meal – no matter how long it took – but now, I need quick meals for those week nights.  Meals that have a 30 – 40 minute cook time (max) and that my kids will actually want to eat.

Lucky for me, there’s a Walmart on my way home where I know that I can find everything that I need to put together a well balanced meal at a great price.With cooler temperatures upon us, comfort food is on my mind, so I’ve been trying to incorporate comfort foods into our weekly meal planning.  Foods that fill the tummy and warm the soul, while still providing a wholesome, nutritious meal.  And my absolute favorite comfort food of all time is macaroni and cheese.  My store actually has a whole section dedicated to macaroni and cheese!  It can be a bit hard to find tucked away in the cereal aisle, but once you’re there, they have every kind you could ever imagine, including Kraft Shells & Cheese which is always a hit at my house.On this particular night, I decided to make breaded chicken breasts with Kraft Shells & Cheese and steamed vegetables.  This is one of my go-to working mom meals because it’s a balanced meal that I can get on the table in 35 minutes…and that’s about how long it takes for my kids to start to meltdown.  So after grabbing some chicken breast, bread crumbs, cheese, and mixed veggies, I headed towards the check out and ran home.  Thanks to the low prices at Walmart and their fabulous deal on chicken chicken breasts this week, this entire meal cost just over $10!

The great part about using Kraft Shells & Cheese as a part of a meal is that it doesn’t require a ton of work and can be done in under 15 minutes.  So while my chicken was baking, my Kraft Shells & Cheese were in the works.  I would stir it from time to time, but other than that it needed very little supervision.
Thankfully, it’s also a very forgiving food when it comes to preparation because I left mine on the stove a smidge too long and they still came out absolutely perfect – cheesy and delicious!

As a mom, the absolute best part of this meal is that everyone in my family can eat it.  Sure, the portions are smaller and I cut up their chicken breast into strips before breading it and sprinkling on some cheese, but it’s the same meal for all of us.  I can’t tell you frustrating it is to not only make one meal at night, but to have to make two because the kids won’t eat what we’re eating.  My 2 year old recently learned the word “ewww” at school and isn’t afraid to use it.  Luckily, this meal passes the test.  I’m even able to sneak some veggies on the plate and I often find the kids mixing their veggies with the Kraft Shells & Cheese.  Hey, whatever it takes to get them to eat their veggies, right?

So what about you?  Do you use Kraft Shells & Cheese in your meal plan?  What do you make with it?