My kids just love Anne’s macaroni and have for years. Since we moved and now have a Costco membership we can purchase them in packs of 12 (with three different kinds) and so I always ensure we have a few cases around. Because it’s super easy to make I thought I would try cooking it in a wonderbox today. Fortunately, it went well… better than I expected, in fact.
If you’re unaware, to make boxed macaroni conventionally you just bring water to a boil and continue to cook the macaroni at a boil for about 10 minutes. Then add in the milk, butter, and packaged cheese and you’re done. To make in a wonderbox you still bring the water to a boil but instead of continuing to cook the macaroni over a stovetop–thereby wasting energy or fuel–you use the “wonderbox” idea instead.
The idea is super simple: take anything that is insulating (like a cooler), make it more insulating (by shoving towels, rags, old clothes, shredded paper, etc) into the “cooker” and just place whatever you’re trying to finish cooking in the middle of it all. Basically, you’re just trying to retain as much heat as possible. Here’s what we did…
- We used a cooler as our “wonderbox” and further insulated it with an assortment of old blankets on the bottom and sides. After bringing the water to a boil and adding the macaroni (and a lid) we placed it in the middle of the cooler.
- Now we simply wrapped and shoved blankets to fill gaps. I wasn’t trying to really cram them in there, just fill up any obvious cavities since it’s the dead airspace I need to retain heat.
- After about 40 minutes we decided to check the macaroni to see if it was done and it was. In fact, it was much more plump and tender than it normally is, so much so that my oldest remarked it was better tasting than normal! For him, that’s a huge compliment.
Again, the idea isn’t difficult to implement at all and works great for nearly any meals that can be cooked or simmered in a pot and left alone. Try it someday… I’ll bet you’ll be surprised at how easy it is!
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