8.1.12

Inspired by Pinterest: Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

So many of you know that I'm a huge Pinterest fan and love, love, love all the different inspiration I find there. Well I have to share my latest with everyone because you've seen me talking about it on Facebook. It's the Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese recipe that I found one day on Pinterest. This photo from Esther does not even convey how yummy this is to eat! 
I thought I'd share with you what I learned about what works and what doesn't before sending you over to Esther's website for the recipe. 

The first time I doubled the recipe because I had guests coming for a dinner and wanted to make sure I had enough and it barely fit in my large crock pot...it was filled to the brim. I also read all the comments from people that had tried that and learned that you MUST make sure your noodles that you par boil are cooled back to room temperature, along with the melted butter before combining everything. If you don't, it causes the eggs to curdle. I also learned after making this my third time that the fastest way to cool the noodles is to rinse them in cold water. Speaking of noodles, we loved the short little "tube" looking noodles instead of traditional elbow noodles...made it a little more unique. And another thing worth mentioning is that crock pot size does matter. i cooked this recipe once in my large 8 qt crock pot and then again in my smaller 5 qt crock pot and it made a huge difference. In the large cooker it was not as moist, almost over cooked.

Anyway, enough talking...check out Esther's website and print the recipe off for yourself. You will love it!! By the way, the family voted and want me to make it again tomorrow. It was also voted as both of my kids most favorite food in 2011!!

Oh and if you want to check out more "Inspired by Pinterest" projects, be sure to check out my new My Craft Channel show that begins airing this upcoming Thursday. I will search Pinterest for inspirational pins that you've posted and bring some of those to life in fun video episodes on My Craft Channel. If you haven't checked out My Craft Channel yet, this would be the week to do it! 
Allred Design, mommy blogger, scrapbook, paper crafts

3 comments:

Amy K said...

Sounds fun - can't wait to watch!

Esther @ Esther Eats said...

Thanks so much for writing about my mac and cheese! I need to make this again soon, because I've been craving it so bad!

Unknown said...

Thanks for an awesome morning, Lori! First of all I love, love, love Pintrest, too and your concept of blogging your inspirations with links and how-to's is brilliant! Secondly, I've never been able to make a successsful Mac n. Cheese in my slow cooker so I'm thrilled to get this recipe to give it a try. And, finally ... speaking of slow cookers .. I have struggled with a few recipes in the past because they seem to dry out and get 'crusty' around the edges even when it's on low. EPIPHANY!! Your tip about the SIZE of the cooker! My cooker is huge ... for those large, family gathering recipes! hhhmmm, maybe not the best choice for those 'Feeds 4' days, huh? Omgsh, I'm going to go get a smaller Crock Pot and re-try those recipes! Thank you, so much!!

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