Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

Yesterday, I sent Kerry a text asking him what he'd like to have for dinner. The choices were all comfort food: chicken and rice, baked ravioli, stuffed cabbage, chicken salad with tarragon and grapes and macaroni and cheese. I was expecting he'd write back "stuffed cabbage." Instead, he wrote that he wanted macaroni and cheese.

I knew we were probably going to have a happy hour with some single malt Scotch before hand and that I didn't want to be busy in the kitchen. Thus, I went to the store, got the ingredients and made this easy Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese. It is creamy and delightful.

Ingredients

16 ounces (1 box) Cavatappi (or elbow macaroni)
8 ounces of Sharp Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
8 ounces of Irish Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
8 ounces of Monterey Jack Cheese (shredded)
8 ounces of Velveeta (processed American) Cheese (shredded)
¾ cup (1 ½ stick) Butter (melted)
2 cans (12 ounces each) of Evaporated Milk
1 ½ cups of Whole Milk
4 eggs (beaten)
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
½ teaspoon Ground Mustard
Paprika

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to boil then generously salt it.

Place the noodles in the boiling water, stir, and cook (according to the package) until al dente. (My noodles cooked for 6 minutes.)

Meanwhile, using a food processor (with the grating blade) or a box grater, shred the three different types of cheese and cube the processed American cheese. (You can use any combination of cheese you would like.)

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it.

Place the drained pasta back in the hot pan, put it back on the stove and stir in the cheese.

Keep stirring until the cheese melts (don't worry if it doesn't all melt right away).

Once the cheese is mostly melted, add the melted butter and stir.

Stir in the milk and condensed milk.

Finally, stir in the beaten eggs, the salt, the pepper and the ground mustard. The mixture will be very wet (don't worry as the eggs will bind the ingredients while it cooks in the slow cooker).

Spray a large slow cooker with cooking spray.

Place the pasta mixture in the slow cooker and sprinkle it with paprika.

Cover and cook on low for three (3) hours. If you don't have a slow cooker, put the mixture in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake in a 350 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 45 − 50 minutes.

When the three hours are over, it will look like this:

Stir the pasta and cheese mixture.

Serve with your favorite sautéed greens and enjoy!