Crock-Pot Mac 'n' Cheese (Christmastide's Final Fatbomb)

Happy 2014, everyone!  Time to eat right, exercise, and make ourselves better than we were last year...

                                                             but not juuuuuust yet.

See, I'm still smack dab in the throes of Christmastide (shut up, I know it ends tomorrow - WAH!) so I've decided we're still in vacation/EAT ALL THE THINGS mode.

Plus, I somehow ended up with a whole lot of leftover cheese from Christmas recipes, including a block of good ol'e Velveeta. Yes, I know it's not really cheese.  No... no, I don't really care.  It's delicious.  But all I know how to make with it is queso (darn GOOD queso, but that's for another day) so I decided to scan the internet for something easy and cheesy to make, preferably a recipe that utilizes my all-time favorite kitchen appliance: le Crock de la Pot.

Recipes are more like GUIDLINES to me than actual rules, but mostly the inspiration came from here.  I just added the stuff I know my family likes.  Feel free to do the same!

Whatcha Need:

16 oz box of noodles (I used shells, you can use whatever you prefer!)
1 lb Velveeta, cubed
1/2 - 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (again, any kinda cheese you like, but I had this on hand)
1 1/2 - 2 cups milk
salt, pepper, mustard powder, garlic powder, dash of hot sauce (really, whatever you prefer)
non-stick spray

Whatcha Do:

Cook the noodles about halfway (they keep cooking in the Crock).  Spray your slow-cooker, put half the noodles in the bottom of the crock, then layer on half the cheese.  Repeat.  Mix all your seasoning into your milk - I would start with 1 1/2 cups and then add more later if you think your mac is too thick.  Pour milk over noodles and cheese, then cook on LOW for about 3 hours.  If you like the crispy cheese edges of baked mac 'n' cheese, then try not to stir it to much.  The noodles up against the edges will get OH so yummy!

We're mega-fatties, so I didn't even bother to get a pic until Hubs and I had plowed through over half of the shells and cheese.  Whoopsie!



This is what it does to babies.  It basically does the same thing to adults, but Hubs and I don't look nearly as cute whilst in a food coma.

Oh, people.  It was cheesy.  It was decadent.  It took at least a year off my life (pretty sure.)  Tomorrow, I'm eating nothing but vegetables, I swear.

What am I saying?  I deserved it!  Hubs and I got some kind of strange motivation and decided to clean/organize the main areas in the house as well as his office.  Tomorrow is laundry and bathrooms.  Then it's back to work for Hubs on Monday, and back to a regular routine for the girls' and me.  Starting off with a clean house will make the transition back to "real life" a little easier.

For real though, I need to go lie down.  The cheese is starting to take it's toll...