# Tomatoes in your mac & cheese or not?



## debodun (Aug 13, 2019)

When my mom used to make mac & cheese, she's add some canned stewed tomatoes to them.


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## Lara (Aug 13, 2019)

Some restaurants add lobster to Mac&Cheese. I don't get why anyone would commit such a travesty.
Lobsters don't deserve their legacy to be buried in macaroni and cheese.
They want to be honored in a Lobster Newburg at the NYC Delmonico restaurant.


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## debodun (Aug 13, 2019)

I don't like tuna in my macaroni salad or pineapple or raisins in coleslaw. A lot of people do, but to me those are also travesties.


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## Uptosnuff (Aug 13, 2019)

I've never tried it before but it sounds interesting.  Cheese and tomatoes are always a good combo!


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## Uptosnuff (Aug 13, 2019)

@Lara 
Oh, that sounds awful.  Lobster deserves to be on it's own, with a hint of melted butter.


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## RadishRose (Aug 13, 2019)

Cheese and seafood just don't go well together; especially shellfish. JMO.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 13, 2019)

No tomatoes in my mac n cheese but on the side for me.


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## AnnieA (Aug 13, 2019)

No to tomatoes_ in_ mac n cheese! But agreeing with Ruthanne that some sliced, fresh tomatoes on the side goes well with it.


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## Marie5656 (Aug 13, 2019)

Me, I like mine plain. I did have a friend who put catsup on hers.


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## Patio Life (Aug 13, 2019)

Plain mac & chesse for me.


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## tortiecat (Aug 13, 2019)

No tomatoes for me; but I do have a recipe with tuna and broccoli florets in it, which I like.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Aug 13, 2019)

My mother used to add canned tomatoes to mac & cheese, too. I thought we were the only family in the world that had home made mac & cheese...and with tomatoes. I guess it's because Kraft Dinner would taste pretty fugly with tomatoes added? Does anybody actually make mac & cheese from scratch anymore?


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## Liberty (Aug 13, 2019)

Ruthanne said:


> No tomatoes in my mac n cheese but on the side for me.


Go to NOLA  ...they are big on Lobster Mac & Cheese, and smoked oysters, too.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Aug 13, 2019)

Nahhh...I can skip lobster in my mac & cheese!


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## Gary O' (Aug 13, 2019)

Good mac & cheese can stand alone
Just a bit of pepper for me
But
That's *good *mac & cheese


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## Sassycakes (Aug 13, 2019)

Tomatoes in Mac and cheese sounds good to me.. I'm going to have to try it.


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## jujube (Aug 13, 2019)

I made mac and cheese for my little granddaughter one time and put some peas in it for variety.

I put her in her highchair, put the food in front of her and went off to do something.  When I came back, the mac and cheese was gone and all the peas had been neatly dropped on the floor.

Oh, well.


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## Gary O' (Aug 13, 2019)

debodun said:


> add some canned stewed tomatoes to them


Oh, hell no

Make your mac & cheese

Fry it

Have the sun tea ready


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## Ruth n Jersey (Aug 13, 2019)

I never had mac and cheese growing up. My Mom called it baked macaroni. She put it in a casserole dish,sprinkled with bread crumbs and dotted with butter. Popped it in the oven. The top got so golden brown and crusty with the crumbs and cheese. We never had it as a stand alone dish,always as a side. My Dad and I would grab as much of  the top as possible when scooping it out.


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## Shalimar (Aug 13, 2019)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> My mother used to add canned tomatoes to mac & cheese, too. I thought we were the only family in the world that had home made mac & cheese...and with tomatoes. I guess it's because Kraft Dinner would taste pretty fugly with tomatoes added? Does anybody actually make mac & cheese from scratch anymore?


Yes I make it from scratch.


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## Gemma (Aug 13, 2019)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> Does anybody actually make mac & cheese from scratch anymore?



Yes, I still do, but not very often anymore.


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## Butterfly (Aug 13, 2019)

If I were goig to make it at all, it would be from scratch.  But I haven't made it in years -- too fattening and full of cholesterol.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 13, 2019)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I never had mac and cheese growing up. My Mom called it baked macaroni. She put it in a casserole dish,sprinkled with bread crumbs and dotted with butter. Popped it in the oven. The top got so golden brown and crusty with the crumbs and cheese. We never had it as a stand alone dish,always as a side. My Dad and I would grab as much of  the top as possible when scooping it out.


My mom made it the same way and I loved it!


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## Llynn (Aug 13, 2019)

NOT.


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## Lane (Aug 13, 2019)

hec,yes, Tomatoes with everything eggs, american fries and gravy with slices tomatoes!  steak and tomatoes! and even a lettuce
and tomato sandwich!  .. I haven`t tried ice cream yet...


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## mike4lorie (Aug 13, 2019)

Of course....


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## debodun (Aug 14, 2019)

Lane said:


> hec,yes, Tomatoes with everything eggs, american fries and gravy with slices tomatoes!  steak and tomatoes! and even a lettuce
> and tomato sandwich!  .. I haven`t tried ice cream yet...


I had homemade tomato wine once.


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## Aunt Bea (Aug 14, 2019)

I've never had tomato wine but I've had tomato preserves. 

They were actually pretty good once I wrapped my head around the idea.

https://www.cooks.com/recipe/mo7gv156/old-fashioned-spiced-tomato-preserves.html


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## jujube (Aug 14, 2019)

Anyone ever had a tomato pie?  Made correctly the southern way, it'll close your arteries but you'll die with a grin on your face. Guaranteed.

I had a so-called "healthy" one last year.  No thanks.  I'll take it the way my grandma made them and sacrifice those extra five days at the end of my life.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Aug 14, 2019)

Yes. Made with red tomatoes, green tomatoes...who cares? Either way it's delicious!


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## debodun (Aug 14, 2019)

jujube said:


> Anyone ever had a tomato pie?


My mom used to make green tomato pie with the recipe her mother-in-law gave her. My paternal grandma was Mennonite.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Aug 14, 2019)

Now there's a southern supper: tomato pie, mac & cheese, throw in some cornbread and sweet tea, and you're in business! Y'all are making me  h u n g r y!!!


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## debodun (Aug 14, 2019)

This is my grandma's recipe for green tomato pie (caveat - I don't have it much anymore since it tends to give me acid reflux):

3 Tbsps. flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice
3 cups green tomatoes, sliced VERY thinly
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

2 unbaked pie crusts

Place one pie crust in the bottom of a 9” pie dish. Mix flour and 1 Tbsp. of the sugar together. Sprinkle over bottom of pie crust in pan. Add tomato slices. Mix together remaining sugar, salt and spices. Sprinkle over tomatoes. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with vinegar (or juice). Cover with top the other crust and crimp to seal. Make a few slices in top crust. Bake at 350o for 1 hour. Hint: This pie tends to boil over, so you might want to place a piece of foil on the rack below the pie while baking.


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## jujube (Aug 14, 2019)

My grandmother's tomato pie recipe had strips of bacon across the top.  That's the artery clogging and smile making part.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Aug 14, 2019)

Deb, that recipe looks good, but the kind of tomato pie I know of is served as a savory side dish and has no top crust. I bet green tomato would be a good dessert pie, though. It's kind of late in the season to find green tomatoes down here, but if I do in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try it.


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## debodun (Aug 15, 2019)

My mom said it tasted like apple pie to her. To me, it had more of a mince pie flavor. To someone else it might have even a different flavor.


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## Lc jones (Aug 25, 2019)




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## Lc jones (Aug 25, 2019)

Lc jones said:


> View attachment 75250


Just baked my mac & cheese I love this recipe


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## fmdog44 (Aug 26, 2019)

Drained Mexican tomatoes w/chilies, ground beef and lots of tabasco & Lawry's Salt.


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## MemereG (Dec 20, 2019)

I _love_ to add diced tomatoes to my mac and cheese. Hubby doesn't, but I always have it with tomatoes.


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## Liberty (Dec 21, 2019)

Ketchup...gotta be Heinz.


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## fmdog44 (Dec 21, 2019)

Kraft Dinner Spirals- add cooked ground beef, finely chopped bell pepper boiled or the last minute of the pasta. Season with tabasco, Lawry's Salt, pepper. Substitute the bell pepper with chopped pickled jalapenos if you like. Adding chopped fresh tomatoes is fine. As far as ketchup goes, always mixed it in when I was a kid. Loved it.


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## Catlady (Dec 21, 2019)

debodun said:


> This is my grandma's recipe for green tomato pie (caveat - I don't have it much anymore since it tends to give me acid reflux):
> 
> 3 Tbsps. flour
> 1 cup sugar
> ...


That sounds interesting, Deb.  I'm adding it to the gazillion recipes I plan to try.  The only time I've used green tomatoes was when I made green sauce.

Re the mac-n-cheese, I like it just the way it is, I use tomatoes in plenty of other recipes.  This is my favorite mac-n-cheese, I use Dijon mustard instead of the ground:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/235413/ultimate-macaroni-and-cheese/


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## Liberty (Dec 21, 2019)

fmdog44 said:


> Kraft Dinner Spirals- add cooked ground beef, finely chopped bell pepper boiled or the last minute of the pasta. Season with tabasco, Lawry's Salt, pepper. Substitute the bell pepper with chopped pickled jalapenos if you like. Adding chopped fresh tomatoes is fine. As far as ketchup goes, always mixed it in when I was a kid. Loved it.


What about Rotel Tomatoes & Chilis?


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## RadishRose (Dec 21, 2019)

Mac & Cheese is NOT America's favorite comfort food! Pasta and cheap, cheezy sauce is the fake version, ala Kraft..

It must be Baked Mac & Cheese, from the oven!!!.

Not a crock pot
Not an Instapot
Not a stovetop
Not a microwave

Rather, in a deep casserole dish in the oven until browned and crispy in the corners and golden bubbly on top.

Don't be fooled by imitations.

This is a classic dish that gets it's unique and delicious flavor from the cooking method more so than extra ingredients, imo.


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 21, 2019)

This thread made me think of gubmint cheese.







I remember my brother and I arguing with my father over who would leave work early to pick up his box of gubmint cheese, the cheese distribution was given to all of the senior citizens in our area.

We could never make him understand that it cost us more to take off from work than the cheese was worth and that we would be happy to buy him some cheese but he would have none of it. 

In the end, he always got his box of free cheese and always ended up giving it to us.  

We always used it to make mac and cheese.


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## Pecos (Dec 21, 2019)

At the risk of starting a civil war, I like ham and pineapple on my pizza!

Skip the sausage, hamburger meat and pepperoni, add some black olives, green peppers, a few onions, and a little cheese. And keep the tomato sauce thin. Medium crust if you please.


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## Judycat (Dec 22, 2019)

I know someone, a newspaper columnist, whose kids used to call tomatoes in mac and cheese Dogbreath. The warm cheese and tomatoes together apparently smelled similar to Rover panting in your face.


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## Loreen (Jan 1, 2020)

No to the tomato in Mac & Cheese, but I do enjoy Crab Meat in my Mac & Cheese. That just might be a Maryland thing.


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## peppermint (Jan 1, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I never had mac and cheese growing up. My Mom called it baked macaroni. She put it in a casserole dish,sprinkled with bread crumbs and dotted with butter. Popped it in the oven. The top got so golden brown and crusty with the crumbs and cheese. We never had it as a stand alone dish,always as a side. My Dad and I would grab as much of  the top as possible when scooping it out.


Hi Jersey Girl....Mom called it baked macaroni....It must be a Jersey thing....


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