Mac 'n' Cheese on the Go!

It’s the time of year again for Christmas parties and company potlucks. Our company Christmas luncheon was today. After seeing plenty of people signed up for vegetables and desserts, I decided to bring macaroni and cheese. After all, you can’t have ham without it! The glitch to bringing this dish, however was two-fold. 1) Mike and I have had a lot going on with finals, visiting with friends, and our new German Shepherd pup, Leopold, so I needed to make something quick and easy; and 2) warming up large portions of food in our work microwaves is tedious and frustrating. Cooking something in a slow-cooker solved both these problems in one fell swoop.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was very easy to whip up, and I thought it was very tasty. The sauce would have been a bit creamier if I had served it 30 minutes earlier, but it was still very good. And had I been at home cooking it, I could have simply stirred in some extra milk or margarine.


Before Cooking

The original recipe cooks the pasta first, and cooks the cheese sauce ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and combined. To me, those extra steps defeat the purpose of making mac ‘n’ cheese in a slow-cooker, so I followed someone’s recommendation on the site where I found the recipe and prepared mine as I’ve indicated here. In fact, I forgot to add the margarine when I was stirring it all together, so I dotted it over the top and stirred it in once everything started warming up. A couple of my co-workers (me, to, truthfully) were a bit apprehensive about whether or not the noodles would actually cook and be tender, but it wasn’t a problem at all. I did stir it a few times while it was cooking, but I imagine you’d be ok without doing that if you couldn’t.

Next time you’re headed out where you need to take a dish to share, I would definitely recommend this one!

Slow-Cooker Mac ‘n’ Cheese

1 (16-ounce) package pasta shells
½ cup (1 stick) margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups fat-free half-and-half
1 (10-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dry mustard

Spray a slow-cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add the pasta and butter and stir to coat. Combine the eggs, half-and-half and soup in a bowl and mix until well combined. Stir in the cheese and dry mustard. Add to the pasta and stir well to combine. Cover and cook on Low for 2½ to 4 hours.



After Cooking


Comments

  1. Mandy1/10/12, 9:30 AM

    Sounds easy and tasty! Thanks for sharing this to-go dish!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looks like I've got some catching up to do

Image
So, to anyone who was reading this with any regularity, it seemed as though I fell off the face of the earth. Or quit cooking. Or quit eating. I can assure you none of these scenarios is true. Mike and I still cook together all the time, and now it's even better because we moved last summer, and our new kitchen is far and way better than our old one. We've also still been traveling quite a bit — most frequently to Asheville — where the most frequent question that comes up is, "Where are we eating tonight/in the morning/next?" Along those same lines, for our last several birthdays and anniversaries, we've opted to celebrate by dining out at a restaurant (preferably one we haven't tried yet) instead of exchanging gifts. So I figured to help me get back in the swing of things, I'd share our most recent celebration dinner: my birthday dinner earlier this month. If you're not from Nashville, you may not know, but the food scene here has EXPLODED
Read more

Finally Fall

Image
On tonight's menu...Monday Night Football and Moroccan Carrot Soup!  That peeler is one of the cheapest and best kitchen gadgets I own! Nothing says Fall has arrived like football and soup, and since the temps around here finally dropped below the 80s, it was time to break out the soup pot. I first tried this carrot soup at my aunt's house several months ago, and I couldn't wait to make it again so Mike could try it, too. It's really easy to make, and I believe relatively healthful. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, so consider this one, "From the Kitchen of Aunt Sheryl." I used Greek yogurt, and doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers for lunches. The recipe as listed says it will serve 4. Drizzling in the honey... Moroccan Carrot Soup 2 Tbl butter 1 cup chopped white onion 1 lb large carrots, peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces 2½ cups low-salt chicken broth 1 Tbl honey 1 tsp fresh lemon juice ⅛ tsp ground allspice
Read more

Not Above Bribery...

No new recipe today, folks (that will come tomorrow). Instead, I'm introducing a month-long "game," if you will. Here's the deal: 1. During the month of February, be sure to not only visit my blog, but to also post comments on my blog posts. 2. For every comment you make on my blog, you will have an entry in a drawing I'm holding. 3. On March 1st, I will choose one name from the hat. The winner will receive a free copy of Recipes Worth Sharing , a fantastic cookbook valued at $24.95 that I use often (remember the shrimp and grits I made?). That's all you have to do. The more comments you make, the more chances you have at winning. I will limit it to one Comment per blog post so we don't have people posting one word at a time or something equally crazy. Please use your best judgement. I hope you're as excited about this as I am. After all, who doesn't love FREE stuff?!
Read more