Crock Pot "No Fail" Macaroni and Cheese

*originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 2-24-15*

With another super duper cold snap upon us, I was craving some comfort food! One recipe in the crock pot that has not been a success for me in the past is mac n cheese. I made a recipe back in season 2 of The Crock of the Week, and it was good, but it wasn’t quite the creamy consistency I was looking for. I tried again last fall and failed miserably. It always curdled on me! I came across the recipe below online a few weeks ago, and the author of the blog had the exact same problems and frustration as me, and THIS is the recipe that worked for her. So I decided to try one more time, but if it didn’t work, I was never going to make mac n cheese in the crock pot ever again! Haha! Well, since I am sharing it with you this week, you can probably guess the outcome. It was AWESOME! The key is NO EGGS! Don’t use a crock pot recipe that calls for eggs in the ingredient list! This recipe uses a can of condensed cheddar soup in the mix, and I think that is what made it work so wonderfully. YUM YUM YUM!!!

Crock Pot “No Fail” Macaroni & Cheese

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

5 tablespoons butter

18 oz grated medium cheddar cheese (about 2.5-3 cups)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil elbow macaroni in a saucepan for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Then, melt butter in a saucepan, and slowly stir in the grated cheddar cheese over low-med heat until it is completely melted. It should only take a few minutes, and stir almost constantly to avoid burning.

Transfer melted cheddar to the crock pot, and add in sour cream, milk, soup, dry mustard, and salt & pepper. Stir in partially cooked elbow macaroni. Cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring a few times. Keep an eye on it, as all crock pots cook differently. It was done in about an hour and 45 minutes for me.