Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

Today, I needed to find something to cook in order to use the milk that's about to expire.  We only buy it for cereal and Kraft mac and cheese, as I've sadly decided I'm becoming lactose intolerant so this last half-gallon has not been used as quickly as it normally has.  I checked out my collected recipes and found something perfect!  I got this recipe from www.budetsavydiva.com and have decided to share, since I'm trying it for the first time today, and I made a few tweaks, doubled the recipe, and as it's cooking away I'll have to let you know but considering everything that's going in it, I'm sure it's going to be amazing!  I also ran across a helpful hint on a different recipe, something to do with chicken and cream-of-whatever soup, etc. The author advised that it would be smart to spray down the insides of the crock pot with Pam before putting everything in, and I imagine that it would help avoid everything that bubbles up and sticks after 6-8 hours of cooking.  Of course, I forgot this time, but I thought I'd share it with all of you!

Super Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

2 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (since I double the recipe I used half sharp, half blended cheddar & mozzarella)

1 egg

½ cup sour cream

1 (10 ¾ ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 cup 2% milk

½ teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Powder (I used onion flakes, as that's what we had)

1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

pinch of nutmeg (I omitted because we don't have any)

pinch of Cayenne

Directions:

Cook the pasta for 6 minutes, drain and rinse. The recipe says to melt the cheese and butter in a medium saucepan, but I had issues. I was stirring constantly but either I had the heat too high or because I doubled the recipe, I should have used a larger pan, or the microwave to melt it together, because it didn't quite come out the nice cream mixture I imagined. You may want to use whatever cheese-sauce cooking method you prefer. The recipe says to mix everything together in the crock pot and let it go for 2 and ½ hours on low. I simply dumped the macaroni in the pot and poured everything on top, having mixed all the other ingredients in a different bowl (minus the cheese sauce, that I dumped right in and tried to mix in) and mixed away, trying to combine as best as possible before I put on the lid. Stir well every hour and get ready to eat!

Happy Cooking!

Enjoy,

Allie H.