Crockery Cooking - Mac and Cheese

Fiiiiiiinally, a day off! In my place that means loads of laundry, cleaning, and cooking enough to last the week ahead. Crockpot cooking is my savior in that I can just dump a load of stuff in there and forget about it for a while. I'm good at forgetting. Seriously though, I couldn't live without my crock.. I love it to pieces!

Mac and cheese is one of those things I have a love/hate relationship with. I haaaate the stuff out of the box, microwave cup, or what have you. However I loooooooove homemade, oozing with cheese sauce that I made myself. I don't really have much time however, to sit over the range making a roux, then painstakingly adding bits of cheese and whisking till my arm falls off. No likey. This recipe is one I modified from A Year of Slow Cooking , and satisfies that need for oozy creeeeammy goodness (and lord is it creamy) without having to micromanage your sauce. I love lazy stuff that just comes together.



As Stephanie states on her blog, this recipe does require you to be around the house. It comes together quite fast for crock standards, and you will need to give it a stir or two. This isn't one that can be made while your at work. But for days like today, when I'm home and up to my armpits in mismatched socks - Perfect!

You will need:

*1/2 pound uncooked macaroni (any shape is fine, I went with good ol' elbows)

*4 cups milk

*2 eggs (this is what makes it creamy! This is what's sometimes called "southern style" and makes a sort of custard. Don't fret! it's worth it!)

*4 cups shredded cheese. (Cheddar has a tendency to gloop at long heat, so I used 2 cups sharp cheddar and 2 cups of my favorite pepper jack)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried mustard (use dried! regular mustard contains vinegar, which could curdle your dairy)

Method:

Spray the inside of your crock with cooking spray. Whip the eggs and the milk together, along with the spices.

Whip it good.

Add Cheese and noodles, and stir the lot to combine. It will seem very runny. That's ok.

I love cheese. I flipping love cheese.. Ohhhh baby. It took a lot of willpower not to jump in this bowl.

Dump the entire bowl into your crock and set it on low. It will take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, depending on your unit. Mine was slightly overdone and gooey goodness by 3.5-4 hours. If you're in a pinch you can set it to high for 1 to 2 hours, but watch it! It will need some good stirring to make sure it doesn't gloop or curdle up. I gave mine about 3 stirs total in 4 hours and it was perfect.

Dear god.... thank you for cheese.

It's good people. It's really super-dee-dooper good. Pudgy or not, your family, kids, friends, anyone off the street should adore this, if they adore cheese. (And if they don't, why bother?) This recipe only filled just half of my 6 qt cooker, so I'm sure it could be doubled without an issue. Since it's just me here right now, there was no need for all that gooey.... glorious... oozy... cheese.... oh god I'm sorry, I need to sit down or something.

Enjoy! xo