CROCK POT MACARONI AND CHEESE

RECIPES THAT WARM YOUR HEART, THAT TAKE YOU AWAY AND THAT GIVE YOU THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

Everyone loves 'Mac & Cheese' but it isn't always easy to make it at the last minute unless you reach for one of the box kind that kids love but isn't quite as good as the real thing. On the other hand, maybe your family doesn't even know what the real thing is because all you've ever had is the box kind. There are lots of ways of making macaroni and cheese and I'm not saying that this way is the best, but it is easy and it saves boiling the macaroni. I can remember when I finally learned how to make macaroni and cheese and I was convinced that at least now I know I won't need to starve because I can cook 'something', even if it's only macaroni and cheese. Making it in your crock pot is nice because you can just put everything in there and then forget about it while you go about your day and when you come back to check on it, there it is all creamy and soft and delicious, just the way you like it. You can eat it by itself or use it as a side dish. I could never get away with slicing up hot dogs and putting them in macaroni and cheese because for some reason my family never would go for that, but if you can do it, then it does make for a nice main dish. You can make different variations of this recipe, as well. For instance, if you don't want to use the eggs, you can just as easily leave them out and it will still turn out just fine. Use your imagination and try different ways until you come up with the one that works best for you. Here's the recipe:

3 C. dry macaroni

2 eggs

4 C. milk

1 C. powdered cheese (I buy this in large food storage cans)

1 16 oz. jar cheese dip (or you could use a 16 oz. pkg. of Velveeta cheese)

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (some people call it wooster sauce)

1. Put the eggs and 2 cups of the milk in the crock pot and mix together well with a wire whisk.

2. Add the macaroni and keep stirring.

3. Put in the dry cheese powder. Add the rest of the milk and the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Some people also like to use 1 tsp. dry mustard, but I didn't care for the taste. You can give it a try and see how you like it.

4. Add the cheese dip a little at a time and keep stirring until it has completely melted. Turn the crock pot on high for the first hour to allow it all to come to a slow boil. Then turn it down to low and let it cook for about 2-3 more hours or until the macaroni is completely cooked.

5. If it is thicker than you want it, add a little more milk to thin it down.

6. This is how it looks when it has finished cooking--all rich and golden and bubbling. You can add 1 T. of butter now if you want the taste, but it isn't necessary. It's plenty rich and creamy by itself. This recipe serves 4-6 people generously. We had it with roasted hot dogs and it was delicious. Enjoy!