Where's my Velveeta?

It's been all over the news. Kraft has announced a Velveeta shortage due to changes in production location! Oh, what to do for the Superbowl? Never fear. They promise the fast melting ingredient for the queso dip made famous will be in stock prior to the Big Game. Find the original recipe here. But Kraft is warning people in advance it will be hard to find afterwards!

This is actually called Velveeta LOAF on the Kraft.com website.

Now I have been around for a few decades so I've experienced a few product shortages.  I also am a WWII historical fiction writer so I know about shortages before my time. But the most traumatic time was the 70s. I remember it well.

The oil crisis in 1973 led to a gas shortage. Daddy was glad he had a VW Bug but he still had to wait in line an hour to get gas. Dinner was later because Daddy came home later. We watched every mile we drove in the family station wagon.

I inherited Daddy's bug when I went to college. Pictured here with our first house and ManO's Nova!

But 1973-4 was also the year of the infamous toilet paper crisis. Thanks to the writers for Johnny Carson, king of late night at a time when folks watched a few channels instead of hundreds, and a government official who remarked they were behind on getting bids on toilet paper supplied, people were in a panic. They took what Johnny said about not being able to find TP, added their own anxiety caused by the oil crisis, and voila. Toilet paper flew off the shelves.

So you can see I know panic over shortages. Just because I have four plus 24 packs of toilet paper in my upstairs closet does not mean I was scarred in any way. Never mind we are empty nesters.  

Ahem. Well, back to Velveeta. I can't argue with the smooth melt ability of the orange block. But if you want to try something different, here is an easy substitute that ends up with the same smooth texture. There are lots of recipes on the web but this is by far the easiest and so delicious.

2% Milk, cream cheese, and cheddar. That's it.

1) Combine two cups shredded cheddar, one 8 oz block cream cheese and a scant 1/2 cup of 2% milk in a small sauce pan. NOTE:  Do NOT use pre-shredded cheese because it will clump due to additives.

2) On medium heat, constantly stir ingredients with a whisk until smooth. You can turn the heat up a bit at the start but turn down to medium low as soon as the cheese starts to melt. Keep stirring with the whisk until smooth and there are no shreds of cheese left. Don't let it sit without stirring.

You will have this:

Smooth, creamy and NO flour added. Amazing.

Your substitute sauce is now ready to mix with salsa (fresh is fantastic to add) to make a great dip or pour over shells or any recipe where you would use one large block of Velveeta.

Are you worried about a Velveeta shortage? Do you have a favorite Velveeta recipe? Do you remember shortages on a mass scale or just when someone forgot to go to the grocery store?