Making Macaroni and Cheese in the Crockpot

My daughter made the most delicious dinner last night. She is a macaroni and cheese lover. Her grandmother used to make macaroni and cheese from scratch, over the stove, while everyone else was buying boxes of Kraft. It was these memories that led her to want to try the macaroni and cheese in the crockpot.

This is a very cheesy, rich recipe.

Start with two cups of macaroni noodles - this can be made with either elbow macaroni or even penne pasta. Boil the pasta seven minutes. Pasta should be soft at this point. Drain the pasta but do not rinse.

While the macaroni is boiling, grab a sauce pan and combine four tablespoons of butter and two and a half cups of cheese. We like mild cheddar. The original recipe called for sharp cheddar. We also use a lower fat cheese, thus cutting out some of the calories. Stir the butter and cheese together over a low fire until the cheese melts.

Pour the melted cheese mixture into the crock pot and add in three scrambled eggs. We actually used one whole egg and two egg whites. I couldn't justify the extra yolks. Mix in one cup of sour cream. We used low fat sour cream. I've cooked with the non fat sour cream and the taste changes. If you can, stick with either low fat or regular sour cream.

Add in one can of cheese soup. Any brand is fine, we happened to use the popular national brand. We searched for a lower fat version of the soup and could not find one. Had we found it, we would have used it. Add in a half teaspoon of ground mustard and salt and pepper to taste. We are not salt users and the butter has salt in it, so we did not add any salt to our mac and cheese. We did add in pepper, probably a half teaspoon worth.

Stir everything together and then pour in drained noodles. Mix together to coat the noodles. We took off the lid three times to stir it. The more you remove the lid, the more cooking time you'll need.

The sauce thickened in between each stirring. The sides and bottom ended up being just a little browned and crunchy which I personally love.

Kids love cut up hot dogs in their macaroni and cheese. Add the hot dogs for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

As I read reviews on this recipe, I noted many people said theirs was overcooked. Make sure your crockpot is on low and make sure you stir it a few times while cooking.

We served this with a green salad and garlic bread and had a wonderful dinner that everyone enjoyed.

Audrey's mom always entertained when she was growing up. Audrey learned to prepare for large groups and has often entertained 15-30 people in her home at a time. You can find more great recipes at http://www.recipe-barn.com

Thanks To : cuisinart chef's classic 10-piece cookware set anolon advanced 10-piece cookware set