Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

This is my Aunt Lynnette's recipe and I've loved it for as long as I can remember. I've always been pretty picky about my mac n' cheese. I'm all about real cheddar, real butter, and real rich flavors. My littles like to eat the blue box macaroni on occasion. Bleh. Not me. 

Anyway. This is a recipe any mac n' cheese lover will enjoy. It's super simple and easy to dress up or down according to your own preferences. 

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1 (8-oz) box elbow macaroni (this is 2 c. dry)

1 stick of butter 

2 1/2 c. sharp cheddar

2 eggs, beaten

1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 c. milk

Instructions

Place stick of butter in the crock pot. Cook and drain the macaroni. Pour over the butter in crock pot. Add 2 cups of cheese and stir. Add evaporated milk, beaten eggs, regular milk, salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Top with remaining 1/2 cup pf cheese and cover. Cook 3 hours on LOW heat.

Notes

 This is an awesome side dish to take to a party but it makes a great main course as well. 

Try adding ham and/or fresh tomato slices! Or make a mac n' cheese bar! Set out extra cheese, diced ham, sliced green onions, tomatoes, crumbled bacon, cooked chorizo (our favorite!) etc.

My crockpot tends to run  hot so I've found I need to cut the cook time to 2 1/2 hours or so. The macaroni pictured above was actually cooked for three hours. Had I gotten to it and turned it off sooner it would have been a bit creamier. It's still delish though! Just keep in mind you may need to adjust the cook time depending on the disposition of your crockpot.

You can use any combination of cheese that you'd like. The cheesier the better, I say!

You can add additional seasonings to change things up a bit. I almost always add some chicken boullion and a dash of cayenne or hot sauce.

 I used Pampered Chef's dijon mustard blend once and it turned out wonderfully!