Crockpot Mac and Cheese

For as long as I can remember, macaroni and cheese has been one of my favorite foods. When I was younger, my Mom, sister and I would occasionally meet my Nanny at Piccadilly during her lunch break. I would always get the same thing, fried catfish, coleslaw, mac and cheese and my Nanny and I would split their chocolate pudding. 

Piccadilly had some of the best macaroni and cheese ever! For me the variable is the cheese sauce. It can't be too thin or runny. I like my cheese sauce thicker. It should stick to the noodles, in my opinion. At my bridal shower, I received a Crockpot and I've been searching for a Crockpot Mac and Cheese recipe on Pinterest. I finally found one that sounded promising so J and I tried it out. 

Let me just get this out of the way: IT IS AMAZING!!! 

Just look at the creaminess and the cheesiness! The cheese sauce is thick and it holds onto the noodles. It is a very simple recipe that practically cooks itself.  

Here is the recipe that inspired this dish. I used the same ingredients, but I switched up the directions a little to make preparation a bit easier. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni

4 tbsp of butter

2 1/2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 (10.75 oz) can of condensed cheddar cheese soup

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup of milk

1/2 tsp of dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper*

* J and I used fresh cracked pepper and we used a bit more than 1/2 a tsp because we're pepper feinds. Use as much, or as little, as you like. 

Directions:

1. Cook the macaroni according the instructions on the package. 

2. (Here is where J and I altered the recipe.) The original recipe says to heat the butter and cheese over medium high heat until it is all melted. Then to pour it into the crockpot along with the noodles and add the remaining ingredients. Instead, we mixed all of the ingredients into the sauté pan (except for the cooked noodles), after the cheese had melted. 

3. Once all of the ingredients are combined in the pan, put the noodles in the crockpot and then stir in the sauce. Make sure it is well combined. 

4. Cook on low for 1.5 hrs and stir occasionally. (Original recipe called for 2-2.5 hrs on low, but we felt it was ready after 1.5 hrs. Plus, it was torture to smell and see it for so long and to not be able to dig in.)

5. Scoop a dollop onto your plate to accompany your main dish. Or, if you are anything like me, scoop a couple of dollops onto your plate because this is the main dish! J and I used it as a (generously portioned) side for 2 or 3 meals, so it makes approximately 5-7 servings. 

I'll leave you with a little extra inspiration just in case you were still undecided as to whether or not you should make this easy, peasy, cheesy side dish. Enjoy!