I've always wanted to try Galaxy Foods Cheddar Rice Shreds more because I'm curious how this "cheese" melts. So, for the experiment, I made baked macaroni with turkey sauce and the cheddar shreds.
This recipe is really easy because I just use store bought stuff. Feel free to replace the brands I use with ones you like.
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 1 jar of Whole Foods 365 brand organic pasta sauce
- 1 can of Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes with medium green chilies (I like a little kick in my sauce and these tomatoes from Muir Glen are awesome.)
- 3/4lb ground turkey
- 1 cup dry macaroni pasta
- 1 bag Galaxy Foods Cheddar Rice Shreds
- Diced red onions
- Crushed garlic
- Salt, pepper, and Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
- Worcestershire sauce
- Organic ketchup
- evoo
Let's get cooking:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees
- Start to boil water in a pot to cook the macaroni
- In a pan, saute the diced red onions and garlic in evoo til soft.
- Add in the ground turkey and season with salt, pepper, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute, and worcestershire sauce (I use about 4-5 dashes). Brown the meat.
- While the turkey is browning. Boil the macaroni pasta until it's al dente, that way the pasta can cook more when it's baking. Check your macaroni box for cooking times.
- When the turkey is all brown add in the jar of pasta sauce and the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Because I like pasta sauce with a little sweet zesty kick, I add some organic ketchup. Simmer and stir the tomato sauce with meat for about 5 minutes.
- Drain the macaroni when it's done. In a glass dish mix the macaroni, meat sauce and cheddar rice shreds all together. Save some of the cheddar shreds for later as a cheesey topping. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and top the dish with more cheddar rice shreds.
- Put the oven on broil until the cheese melts. You'll have to watch your oven because broiling can vary on the oven. Broiling is the best way to make this cheese melt so it gives the appearance of like how regular cow milk cheese melts.
So the Galaxy Foods Cheddar Rice Shreds doesn't really melt like cow milk cheddar but it's a nice try. The rice shreds are tasty, but again it's not exactly like the cow milk cheddar. You can taste a difference because there is less flavor.
Still, I would use the rice shreds again. Perhaps in the next dish we can try a Mac & Rice Cheese.
