Chef Lisa

My kids love mac & cheese, and I wanted something I could cook in the slow cooker. The recipe below is based on Spicy Slow Cooker Mac-n-Cheese – I didn’t use andouille sausage as smoked sausage was on sale. It turned out okay, and was good enough for a “this is a great base to start with” verdict from everyone.

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

2 (11 ounce) cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup
2 3/4 cups water
1 (16 ounce) package uncooked shell pasta
1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried onion flakes
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Whisk the condensed soup and water together in a slow cooker until smooth. Add the shell pasta, sausage, smoked paprika, garlic powder and onion flakes. Stir well. Set the slow cooker to HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce to LOW for 2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

When the pasta is tender, stir in the sour cream and cheese until the cheese is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Rachel Ray to the rescue again. And one of these days, I’m going to have to remember to take pictures when I’m cooking.

We liked this dish, and while the pastrami added a nice touch to it, we thought it tasted like something was missing. I didn’t use the New York cheddar as the recipe called for, as I had regular sharp cheddar in the fridge. Or maybe it was the fact it didn’t have the rye bread cumbs on it. We don’t usually eat rye bread, and I didn’t want to buy a loaf for just three slices. The next time I make this dish I will get the New York cheddar. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll start tweaking the recipe.

Budget Friendly New York Deli-Style Mac & Cheese

 
Serves 6

1 pound elbow macaroni
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter, plus additional for buttering toast
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup spicy deli mustard
2 cups NY aged sharp cheddar, grated
1/3 pound deli pastrami, roughly chopped
3 slices rye toast, crumbled or coarsely chopped in a food processor

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, to just shy of al dente. Make sure to reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid before you drain the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a medium-size skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter melts, add flour and cook about a minute. Whisk in milk reserved starchy water and spicy mustard, and bring up to a bubble. Stir in the cheese in a figure-eight motion, reserving enough to sprinkle on the top of the casserole, until it’s all melted. Fold in the pastrami and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the pasta is done, drain it well and combine with sauce. Pour into baking dish and top with reserved cheese and crumbled rye toast. Place in oven until cheese is brown and bubbling.

With the weather being so cold here in the Midwest for the past couple of weeks, I received requests for meals that are warm and stay with you for a while. Homemade mac & cheese is one of these, but as usual, I wanted something with a twist. Rachael Ray’s Cubano Mac & Cheese fit the bill. I made some changes to it to suit the ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe calls for deli sliced ham, which I didn’t use. Not because I don’t like ham, but because I had about a pound of Latin pork shoulder (recipe in The Joy of Cooking). It turned out pretty good, though too spicy for us. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of hot sauce. That’s just too much for my stomach to handle, and Matt said he liked it, but it was too spicy for him to enjoy a lot of it at once. That said, I will be making it again with less hot sauce.

Latin Mac & Cheese

 
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

* 1 pound whole wheat elbow pasta
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 2 cups milk
* 1/4 cup hot sauce
* 1/4 cup yellow mustard
* 3 cups Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded, plus additional for topping
* 1/2 cup pickles, chopped
* 1 lb cooked Latin-style pork shoulder, chopped (around 1/4″ sized pieces)
* A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring it up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once at a boil, add some salt and the pasta and cook it until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter melts, add the flour, stir until it’s all mixed together and smooth, and cook about a minute. Whisk in stock, milk, hot sauce and yellow mustard, and bring up to a bubble. Stir in the cheese in a figure-eight motion, reserving enough to sprinkle on the top of the casserole, until it’s all melted. Fold in the pickles and ham, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the pasta is done, drain it well and combine with sauce.

Serve with a nice salad.