The “cheapest protein possible” sure as shit ain’t Velvitta.

I was thinking, "beans."

Fried baloney. A staple at every county jail, and grade school cafeteria line for the last hundred years or so.

Oh, yeah! My dad used to make me fried bologna on potato roll sandwiches for my school lunch as a kid. I LOVED them! I am totally salivating right now. I don't think I have ever bought bologna as an adult, but I suspect this weekend is going to be Fried Bologna on Potato Roll Fest.

My dad made fried bologna for me. As it was cooking, he would make a slice in it from the edge to the center so that it would lay flat in the pan. It looked like Pac-Man, which I liked even though I really didn't know who Pac-Man was at the time.

I can appreciate that, but I preferred it un-sliced. That way, as the meat-product shrank and rippled, the surface would be differently cooked based on proximity to the pan. You'd end up with a fairly even distribution of concentric arcs and circles, alternating crispy and tender.

Just add melamine. People won't be able to tell the difference.

Lentils. followed by eggs the cheapest protein by the pound.

On a completely unrelated note, why is there a best before date of Cheese? Shouldn't there be a best after date?

If salt gets an expiration date, everything does.

A couple of girls I knew in school, roommates, lived on store bought macaroni an cheese supplemented by bar food. They pretty much decided first week of class that the money left from their student loans to live on should all go to drinking other than what was needed to live. They set aside their rent money and bought a couple of cases of a macaroni and chees that was something like 4 boxes for a dollar. Toss in some milk and there you go. Then they had a list of every bar in the city that had a happy hour with free food or stores that had free samples and these made up the entirety of the rest of their diet. Even so, by the end of each semester they were buying store brand mac and cheese that was 10 boxes for a dollar ( this was the early 90s) and making it with water rather than milk. Poor dears both gained weight and were mal nourished. Fun at parties, though.

How to live cheaply should be taught in high school.

If all you know is the syrupy kind of processed cheese-food mac and cheese, you owe it to yourself to try a real baked mac and cheese.

Here's a recipe from my go-to guy, Mark Bittman:

http://www.howtocookeverything.com/recipes/baked-macaroni-and-cheese

OT, but the " 'target="_Blank' " is so appreciated. Can we make this a common courtesy standard? Is there a general consensus? Just me?

I'm so used to, "right click, hold, open link in new tab," that I forget that other default behaviors exist. It's certainly what I prefer.

I always middle-click to open a link in a new tab. Is that not standard?

It's standard, but many are still unaware. #MiddleClickAwareness

Right-click, middle-click, ctrl-click, select hold... I'm aware. I suppose it's more of a question of on whom is the onus. I'm of the opinion that it is courteous to add the tag. That way everyone wins. But maybe I'm in the minority. #JustMe

I keep my middle button/wheel sensitivity too high, and don't like accidentally scrolling when clicking, so I think that's why I developed the right click habit. I miss my old SGI mouse that truly had three buttons on top and a thumb wheel on the side.

My favorite macaroni and cheese is Golden Grain. Unfortunately, it hasn't been made in years.