How to Make Macaroni and Cheese in the Crock Pot

Do you have limited time to cook, but still crave that home-cooked taste of macaroni and cheese that you spent all day perfecting? By using a trusty old tool called the crock pot, your mac and cheese can still taste as great as it does baking slowly in your oven. Here's how to make a macaroni and cheese dish from scratch in the crock pot.

Things You'll Need

• 1 1/2 cups cooked elbow macaroni
• 1 can carnation milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 to 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Reserve 1 cup of cheese for topping)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. pepper
• 3/4 cup toasted bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Cook your macaroni until it is almost done. This means to cook it to about 95% softness. If you cook it too long, it will get mushy in the crock pot.

2. Drain the macaroni, and pour it into your crock pot.

3. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, onion and 3 cups of the shredded cheese. The recipe calls for cheddar, but a mixture of Monterey Jack and cheddar or other type of whole-milk cheese provides great flavor. Experiment with different types of cheese to find your favorite.

4. Pour the mixture over the macaroni, add the milk and mix well. To create a topping, mix the additional cup of cheese with the bread crumbs. Add this to the top of the macaroni mixture in the crock pot.

5. Cover the pot, and cook for three hours on low heat. Keep the lid on the pot while macaroni and cheese cooks.

6. Enjoy! Serve the macaroni and cheese with a rotisserie chicken and broccoli for a great family meal.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch the pot for the last hour because different crock pots cook at different rates. You do not want to burn your macaroni and cheese.