4 ways to cook with pink cheese

I am NOT sponsored by Cow Candy!

A few weeks ago, I noticed a new product at my local supermarket that looked really weird in the dairy section- it was "Strawberry Jack Cheese" from Cow Candy. I've never thought cheese could be flavored to your liking, so of course, I had to buy this cheese. 

It tastes like strawberry milk in cheese form- sounds really strange but it's really good. My dad said is tasted like bubblegum! The best thing about this cheese is that it's naturally flavored with dried strawberries- no food colors or artificial flavorings(unlike the purple and green ketchup from my childhood in the early '00s)! 

I thought of the ways you could use cheese and I came up with 4 ideas. Well I had 5, until I realized pink ice cream already exists in the form of strawberry ice cream. 

But I digress. This could easily be a mystery basket product on Chopped since it's so out there! 

About the recipes: 

Pink Cheese Sticks- These are basically mozzarella sticks, except I used pink cheese in lieu of mozzarella. I cooked them 2 ways- in the oven and in the airfryer. The latter way didn't work out, as the cheese melted in the airfryer. But I made lemonade out of lemons by using the melted cheese as the topping on the next recipe, Pink Pizza Bagel. 

Pink Pizza Bagel- Had the airfried cheese sticks not melted, I probably would've chopped some pink cheese sticks up and placed it on top of the pizza sauce on top of the pizza-flavored bagel, which also exists. But that wouldn't have been as good as the melted cheese sticks I ended up with. So it all worked out in the end! The sauce I used was white pizza sauce I also found at the local supermarket. But you could easily use Alfredo sauce instead, which is the same color as the white pizza sauce. 

Grilled Pink Cheese Sandwich- Cutting up 2 pink cheese sticks into cubes didn't make it melt in the frying pan. I ended up with something that looks like cubed ham in between 2 slices of French toast. :(

Mac 'n Pink Cheese- I was too lazy to boil pasta at this point, so I just microwaved some microwave mac and cheese and discarded the cheese packet you're supposed to mix in after the pasta is done cooking. The pasta itself didn't turn pink in color like I envisioned in my head. But I did end up with a pink sauce and some pink cheese chunks. But it was still really good! 

My favorite recipe: The Mac 'n Pink Cheese- the sauce I ended up with tasted like strawberry milk, which pretty much describes the sauce, with the addition of white pizza sauce to thicken it up. 

Least favorite: The Grilled Pink Cheese Sandwich- what's the point of a grilled cheese sandwich if you can't even get the cheese to melt!? That's the whole idea behind this sandwich! 

HELPFUL LINK: Pink Strawberry Jack Cheese: ​https://www.cowcandy.com/shop/!/Pinkie-Pie-Strawberry-Jack-Cheese/p/77291596/category%3D0

You will need: 

Recipe #1: Pink Cheese Sticks

For the cooking equipment: 

A medium bowl
A large bowl
Tongs
Wax paper
A large plate
A lasagna pan 
Nonstick cooking spray
An airfryer

For the sticks: 

6 Strawberry Jack Cheese Sticks(see HELPFUL LINK)
2 eggs
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Oregano
Garlic powder
Parsley
Black pepper
Salt 

1. Put wax paper onto a large plate. Remove the plastic covering from all the cheese sticks. 
2. Beat and whisk 2 eggs in a medium bowl. 
3. In a large bowl, mix the panko breadcrumbs and seasonings together. 
4. Using tongs, dip each stick into the beaten and whisked eggs, making sure to coat them fully in it. Put each egg-coated stick into the breadcrumb mixture and coat each stick in breadcrumbs. Place the breaded sticks onto the wax paper-lined plate. 
5. Freeze the sticks for 20-30 minutes. 

To bake the sticks: 

1. Spray a lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place 3 of the sticks into the lasagna pan.
3. Bake the sticks in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 4 minutes.
4. Take them out of the oven and flip them over with tongs. Return the lasagna pan to the oven and let the sticks cook for an additional 4 minutes on the other side. 

To airfry the sticks: 

1. Preheat an airfryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Take the cooking basket out of the airfryer when it's done preheating.
3. Place the remaining cheese sticks into the cooking basket.
4. Place the cooking basket into the airfryer. Set the timer for 10 minutes. After 5 minutes, take the cooking basket out and turn the melted cheese sticks over with 2 forks. Put the cooking basket into the airfryer and let the sticks cook for an additional minute before unplugging the airfryer(which will shut the machine off).
5. Take the cooking basket out and retrieve your melted pink cheese sticks for Recipe #2! 

Recipe #2: Pink Pizza Bagel

For the cooking equipment: 

A plate

For the bagel: 

1 pizza-flavored bagel
White pizza sauce or Alfredo sauce
3 Melted pink cheese sticks

1. If the bagel isn't thawed out, do so by microwaving it for 35 seconds. 
2. Cut the bagel in half. Spoon the white or Alfredo sauce onto each bagel half. Place the melted cheese sticks on top of the sauce. 

Recipe #3: Grilled Pink Cheese Sandwich

For the cooking equipment:

A frying pan
A spatula
A plate

For the sandwich: 

2 slices of bread 
2 pink cheese sticks
Cooking oil of your choice(I used red palm oil)

1. Cut the cheese sticks into cubes. Place the cubes onto each slice of bread. 
2. Pour cooking oil into the frying pan. Spread the oil throughout the pan. Heat the oil up.
3. Once the oil is heated up, put each cheese-topped slice into the frying pan. Cook for 30-60 seconds before taking them out of the pan with a spatula and onto a plate. 
4. Make a sandwich by placing one cheese-topped slice on top of the other. Cut in half. 

Recipe #4: Mac 'n Pink Cheese

For the cooking equipment: 

A colander

For the dish: 

1 microwave mac 'n cheese bowl
2 pink cheese sticks, cubed
Milk
White pizza or Alfredo sauce

1. Take the cheese packet out of the microwave mac 'n cheese bowl. You won't need it for this recipe. 
2. Fill water to line and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the bowl.
3. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain the pasta out with a colander. Return the pasta back to the bowl. Pour milk to line in same bowl and place the cubed cheese sticks into the bowl. Mix all the ingredients up.
4. Microwave the bowl for 20 seconds. After that, let the pasta rest to let the cheese melt. 
5. Pour white pizza sauce or Alfredo sauce into the bowl. Mix all the ingredients up. 
6. Bon appetit! 

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