Mac N Cheese for a Crowd
The ultimate comfort food - Mac N Cheese - is always a crowd favorite. Whether you're making food for a birthday party, holiday, or other special event, Mac N Cheese is enjoyed by adults and kids alike! I created this recipe after being tasked with making "Crock Pot Mac N Cheese" for over 40 people for Easter Lunch. I was not really keen on the idea of cooking the pasta in the crockpot, that seemed weird to me, so I invented an ultra-creamy, super-saucy stovetop recipe that transfers really well to a crockpot for serving! Without further a-do... here's the recipe! (There's nothing worse than a 12-page blog post about the chef's life leading up to the moment they decided to cook said recipe - amiright?)
Here you go:
Mac N Cheese for a Crowd Feeds approx. 20 adults as a side dish
Ingredients:
(2) 16 oz boxes of elbow macaroni - cooked (slightly under)
(3) 12 oz cans of evaporated milk
4-8 tbsp butter (optional)
1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
6 slices of American Cheese (Kraft Singles)
16 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
16 oz shredded other cheese (i.e. monterey jack, gruyere, provolone, parmesan, etc)
Seasonings* (i.e. seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, ground mustard, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, etc.)
*good old fashioned Salt + Pepper works great too!
Directions:
Cook elbow macaroni slightly underdone and drain. If making ahead of time, you can drizzle olive oil over the noodles to keep them from sticking and store in gallon sized bags in the fridge until needed.
In a large pot, add the condensed milk, heavy cream and butter; stir until the butter is melted. When the butter is melted, add the sliced American Cheese singles and stir until the cheese is melted and incorporated into the milk/butter.
Add the shredded cheeses next (chunk cheese shredded by hand works best) and whisk/stir until a smooth sauce forms. Add seasonings to taste (I prefer seasoned salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper - just a pinch! Ground mustard, onion and garlic powder, and a dash of nutmeg.)
Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, add pasta into the sauce and stir - it will be very saucy and that is ok! Transfer to a crockpot on low and keep warm until ready to serve. As it rests, the noodles will absorb some of the sauce and finish cooking.
Optional: once in the crockpot, you can add additional shredded cheese on top then cover, the cheese will melt and add a layer of ooey gooeyness!
Feel free to dress it up with other additional toppings/mix-ins like chicken, steak, pulled pork, bacon, or if you’re feeling especially fancy, lobster!!
ENJOY!
Get a printer friendly PDF version here.
What modifications would you make? Have you tried this recipe? If you do, let me know how it turns out! I hope your family loves it as much as mine does.
Living My Chef Life,
The Farmer's Wife
Yorumlar