Crockpot: Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese

My mom bought Arya a reindeer outfit.

This past Christmas was not only the first Christmas dinner I hosted, but also our first Christmas as a married couple, our first Christmas with Arya, and our first Christmas in our new place. So it was a pretty exciting holiday for us. But I don't want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about how freaking amazing this mac and cheese is. It's the best I've ever had; it tops any restuarant, store bought, or homemade version I've ever tried. It's that good. Even Eric and his dad, neither big on mac and cheese, both loved it. My mom and mother-in-law asked for the recipe. And the fact that it's made in the crockpot, all the much better! On Christmas day it was a life saver when everything else had to go in the oven.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 8-ounce bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
1 10.75-ounce can of condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Optional Bread Topping:
2 tablespoon butter, melted
3 pieces of sandwich bread, torn into bite size pieces
1/2 tablespoon McCormick Crusting Blend Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary (or you can use garlic powder, basil, thyme, rosemary, whatever your favorite herbs are)

Directions:

Boil macaroni in water for 7 minutes. Drain.

Place all of the ingredients except the pasta, thyme, and optional bread topping in your crockpot and stir. Add pasta and stir again.* 

Cook for 2 hours on low. Stir in thyme.

Optional: After mac and cheese has cooked, transfer to a casserole dish. In a bowl toss together melted butter, bread, and spices. Top the mac and cheese with the bread and place under the broiler until the bread browns, about 5 to 10 minutes. 

*Since I was making this for Christmas dinner (and for the first time!) and didn't want to screw it up, I did not add the pasta to the crockpot. I made the sauce in the crockpot and add the pasta afterwards. However, I read many, many reviews on this recipe and none of them talked about the pasta becoming mushy. Next time I make this, I'll add the pasta right in.

Now, because I was so busy cooking and entertaining on Christmas day, I kinda sorta forgot to take a picture. But I did take a couple of pictures of some reheated leftovers (oh, it reheats very well) sans bread topping.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Crockpot Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Orange Chicken
Pumpkin Butter 
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Parmesan Chicken Casserole

I'll keep this short and sweet: If you love chicken parmesan, you're going to love this dish. Chicken, pasta, tomatos, cheese, what's not to love?

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
6 ounces pasta
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
pinch of black pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Over medium-high heat, heat oil in a large skillet (oven safe if you have one). Cook garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and salt until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Add canned tomatoes--liquid and all--the water, 1/2 cup chicken broth, and pasta to the pan. Stir to combine. Brinng to a vigorous simmer, cover pan, and simmer (you may need to reduce the heat) until the pasta is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir mixture frequently.

Once the pasta is cooked, remove the cover and stir in the parmesan cheese, pepper, and chicken. If the mixture is dry, add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth (I had to do this). Now, if your skillet is oven safe, sprinkle the top of the casserole with the mozzarella. If your skillet isn't oven safe (mine wasn't) tranfer the mixture to an 8x8-inch baking dish and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 5 or 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and bubbles have formed around the edges of the pan.

I made bread sticks to go with this casserole and we have spiced rum brown butter cookies for dessert!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Casserole Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole
Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Sausage and Bean Casserole
The Ultimate Comfort Food Casserole

Pasta with Summer Squash, Tomatoes, and Brown Butter Sauce

Light, easy, and yummy, the perfect combination for a dinner on a hot summer day. To make the dish even more convenient, the cherry tomatoes came right out of the backyard.

Ingredients:
2 cups tubular pasta
2 tablespoons butter
handful of chives, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2 medium summer squashes, sliced into thin ribbons (zucchini can also be used)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt and brown the butter over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes or until the butter turns brown and releases a nutty aroma. Add the chives and squash. Saute for about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook until tomatoes soften, about five minutes. Remove from heat and toss with pasta, Parmesan cheese, and parsley.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Toasted Ravioli

No more boiled ravioli for us. I'm not normally one to fry foods (unless I'm appeasing Eric), but these toasted ravioli are absolutely delicious. This recipe also gave me a chance to test out my buttermilk substitute recipe.

Ingredients:
1/3 cups canola oil
24-ounce packaged of ravioli (I used cheese ravioli)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
marinara or spaghetti sauce

Directions:
Place buttermilk in a shallow dish. Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a second shallow dish. Dip ravioli in buttermilk, coating completely. Shake off excess buttermilk and then dredge the ravioli in breadcrumbs. Place on plate. Repeat with the rest of the ravioli.

Even the uncooked ravioli look delicious.

Heat in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the pasta in the oil until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer the ravioli to paper towel to drain the excess oil. Serve with a side of warmed marinara or spaghetti sauce.

Toasted ravioli with marinara sauce and rosemary focaccia.

Enjoy!

~Krissy