Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

Oh my goodness.  You have to try this.  It has the flavor of homemade, baked macaroni and cheese with slightly more effort than making a box of Kraft.  It got rave reviews from every member in my family.  Of course, I found the recipe on Pinterest, because that seems to be where I find everything these days.

I adapted the recipe from this recipe from A Whisk and A Prayer

Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

1 ½ cups milk

12 oz can evaporated milk

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

3 eggs

½ tsp salt

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp mustard powder

1 tbsp parsley

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend, mixed with sharp cheddar)

8 oz. of shaped pasta (shells, elbows, penne, etc.), par cooked (about 4 minutes) and drained

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 

¼ cup (½ stick) butter 

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Spray a 3.5 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray.  Combine milk, evaporated milk, butter, eggs, salt, onion powder,  mustard powder in the slow cooker.  Blend all ingredients with a stick blender or whisk.   Stir in parsley and pepper.  Add cheese and pasta.  Stir to combine. Top with Parmesan cheese.  Cook on high for 30 minutes and then on low for 2 hours.  Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a frying pan, add bread crumbs.  Stir occasionally until nicely browned.  Layer bread crumbs on top of mac and cheese and serve.

The beauty of this dish is we had a very nice traditional dinner - ham (left over), mac and cheese and steamed green beans, on a night that otherwise, due to time, we would have had a frozen pizza or take out.   

Oh My Goodness, I Love this Recipe!

I adapted this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Her recipe sounded really good but called for multiple oils I don't usually keep on hand. Necessity being the mother of invention, I changed it up to work with the ingredients I do keep on hand and, oh my, is it yummy.


Sesame Noodles
16 oz of linguine - any long thin noodle will work
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-4 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rice or rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup hot water from cooking the pasta
1/2 teaspoon rooster sauce or Tabasco, or 1/4-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Cook pasta according to package directions. Toast sesame seeds in a dry saute pan over medium high heat, tossing or stirring frequently for about 2 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant. Remove sesame seeds and add olive oil to pan and heat. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Place all ingredients except green onions in a bowl and stir until well blended. Drain pasta and pour sauce over noodles. Toss to coat and then let sit for 5 minutes before serving to let the noodles absorb the sauce. I usually add the rooster sauce (or Tabasco or red pepper) after serving the girls so they don't complain about it being too spicy. Sprinkle with green onions before serving.

I make this pasta to go with leftover roast. The first time I mentioned using leftover roast in stir fry Michael thought I was crazy. He is now a convert. I make a double batch of the sesame sauce above to use as my marinade/sauce for the meat and veggies. Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge for a few days as you may or may not use it all depending on how much meat and veggies you have.

Slice the roast very thinly and saute it in sesame sauce to taste. Add whatever fresh veggies sound good with some more of the sesame sauce and stir fry until desired tenderness in achieved. Serve beef and veggies over noodles.

Enjoy!
Jenn