Corned Beef Part Deux - Mac and Cheese Mish Mosh

Today for lunch I made Kraft mac and cheese. Of course I can't just serve it as it comes out of the box. Its just not in my nature. For goodness sake, I was adding mushrooms and broccoli to my Ramen in college!

I had some cooked peas, so of course those went in and I was about to zap a couple of hot dogs and chop them up when I saw the left over corned beef from earlier this week. Hey! Its almost hot dog flavored! It was a hit. So much so that Kate, who refused to eat it at first because she had already decided she wanted to have cereal for lunch, actually asked for some after she "finished" her cereal! (By finished I mean she drank all of the milk out of the bowl with a straw and then took about three bites of the actual cereal - the rest is sitting in the refrigerator for when she asks for a snack. We'll see how that goes).

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Mac and Cheese with Corned Beef and Peas
The most important thing to remember with this recipe is to ignore the instructions on the box of mac and cheese. It always comes out so watery and slimy. Most of this recipe is according to taste and look. If it looks good, its going to taste good!

One box of Kraft Mac and Cheese (or whatever works for you)
butter
milk
1/2 to 1 cup of cooked peas (I love trader joes organic frozen peas - they are sweet and tender and big and crunchy all at the same time!)
1/2 to 1 cup of chopped corned beef (cut up into little pea sized cubes)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Cook the noodles until they are tender. Drain. Add a pat of butter, the bag of cheese and stir over low heat until combined. Add milk until it looks creamy. Add the peas and corned beef. Keep stirring and heating. Add more milk if it starts to look to sticky. When it seems hot enough for you to serve, but too hot for the kids to eat, add the shredded cheese and stir. You'll probably add more milk again to make it creamier and to help the cheese combine so this will cool it down again.

P.S. This goes great with a bottle of beer. I happened to have Michelob ultra left over from previous visitors, but I don't think it matters. Is it bad that I'm drinking at lunch?