Wednesday, June 29, 2011

3 Cheese Mac N' Cheese

I am SOOOOO darn proud of myself right now!  I have MASTERED Slow Cooker Mac n' Cheese!!  Booyah!!!!!  LOL  Seriously, this was the BEST Mac N' Cheese I've ever had!  What is it they say?  "The third try's the charm?!?!"

My daughter is going through the "exert my power" stage of her life and told me for the 5th day in a row or so, she wasn't hungry.  After ignoring her, she finally pulled up a chair next to me like the whole tantrum never happened and took a bite.  I said, "Pretty good, huh?!"  She said, "Yah!!!!"  VICTORY!!!!

The only thing I would say is this.....I overindulged with the cheese!  LOL  I shredded a bit more than 3 cups, well, more than a bit!  LOL  It was CHEESY and DELICIOUS!!!  I guess I didn't need that much cheese, but BOY OH BOY did it taste good!  You have to try this!!!


3 Cheese Mac N' Cheese

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Elbow noodles, uncooked
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 cup shredded monterray jack cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 15oz. can Evaporated Milk
3 cups milk
1/2 stick butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. mustard powder
Non-Stick Spray

Directions:

Spray your Slow Cooker insert with non-stick spray.

Add all the ingredients EXCEPT THE CHEESE and stir.

Cook on LOW for 4 hours or so.  
About 10 minutes before serving, add ALL of the shredded cheese...
 then stir.

Switch the Slow Cooker to warm and just let the cheese warm up!
Enjoy!
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25 comments:

  1. I am so glad you finally had success with the mac n cheese! I was hoping this time would work b/c I love me some mac n cheese and I wanted to try it! :) Yay!

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  2. Mine came out incredibly liquidy...was it supposed to be 5oz evaporated milk instead of 15? It's like mac 'n cheese soup :( Is it because I used skim milk?

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  3. Jenaca,
    Did you use a full lb. of pasta? Did you let it cook long enough afterward to soak up the liquid? Your slow cooker may cook slower than most and didn't heat up as quickly maybe. And it's possible using skim milk made a difference, but I can't be sure. I would say, give it more time to cook next time in your slow cooker! The measurements above are correct.

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  4. are you supposed to use a full lb. or 1/2 lb. of pasta? Just curious. 1/2 lb seems like an awfully small serving. We are going to make it this week since we are mac n cheese lovers! thanks!

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  5. A half lb. just like it says. If you want to use a full lb., double the other ingredients.

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  6. I made this tonight...and everyone liked it, a MAJOR feat at our house...I used Swiss, mozzerella, and cheddar cheeses (I had the swiss and Mozz...and got the cheddar mostly 4 color :) )

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  7. My pasta completely disintegrated, ended up with a big pot of mush...

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  8. Excited to give this a try. By the way, when I went to print this recipe out, it is missing the mozzarella cheese ingredient. Just thought you'd want to know.

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  9. Could you use whole wheat pasta? Would the liquid measurements need adjusting? Thanks, Leah

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  10. Absolutely! Whole wheat would hold up great. It might just need a bit longer cooking time, but I think there will be plenty of liquid. Let me know if you try it!

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  11. My noodles were a little soggy. I'm a huge fan of Mac and Cheese and have tried several recipes in the past with no such luck. This was by far the best yet. Have any suggustions for keeping the noodles a little more firm?

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    Replies
    1. You could always do it the old fashioned way and cook them first to your liking and then add them in, but you won't get the same consistency in the Mac N Cheese. Or, you could try cooking it a little less and adding a little less liquid.

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  12. I have tried this recipe two times. Both times despite adjusting cooking times, the pasta turns to mush and falls apart. I am guessing this happens to everyone to some extent because I can see it starting to break apart I your picture too. I just like firmer pasta. If you can get over the mush taste, the cheese sauce is good. Thanks!

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  13. I wonder if all macaroni is not created equal... I got mushy pasta when I cooked it as well, Didn't quite make it three hours (on low, but admittedly this cooker runs warm) before the sauce was thick and pasta was cooked.

    Now the taste on the other hand is pretty amazing. I am going to try whole wheat pasta (I used Macaroni from Aldi, that was not minitiature, but maybe a little smaller/thinner than is typical. I also used minced onion instead of fresh (it's what I had on hand) and it worked well.

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  14. What could I use on top for a crunchy topping. Just tried the mac and cheese at Clarkston Union that has a crunchy top and its to die for.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure. I've actually not been there yet!

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    2. Maybe crushed ritz, townhouse butter crackers, or even panko with a little bit of melted butter. To get the crunchy affect you may want to transfer to another dish(es) and broil for a bit?!

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    3. I would try the crunchy onion straws that go in green bean casserole, just crush them all up

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  15. I'm trying French's fried onions on mine tonight. You could use crushed crackers or pretzels too.

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  16. mine was way too sweet and I even used a little less evap. milk then what was called for.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry you didn't care for it. You can try it with regular milk.

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