Achieve mac and cheese perfection with the help of a crockpot. In this video, Nicole shows you how to make her comforting and cheesy recipe for crockpot macaroni and cheese! This delicious side dish also uses eggs and milk for a creamier texture.
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00:00Okay, so my friend brings me this macaroni and cheese.
00:02She tells me to solve all her problems.
00:05There's a lot wrong going on in this pan.
00:07All of that is called dried out crunchy pasta.
00:12And also, where's the sauce?
00:14I'm gonna fix this.
00:19Oh my gosh.
00:21It's mac and cheese perfection.
00:23This might stir some people up, but I'm here to tell you
00:25the best macaroni and cheese comes out of a crock pot.
00:28This is my special recipe.
00:30I feel like I've kind of perfected it from the one
00:33my mother-in-law sent me like 15 years ago.
00:35I've kind of tweaked it a little bit, and it's so delicious.
00:39Were you supposed to wear an apron?
00:41No.
00:42I mean, probably, but I'm not.
00:44The problem with a lot of macaroni and cheese is that...
00:49Macaroni and cheese is one of the greatest things of all time,
00:52but it's imperative that it's cooked properly.
00:54I think the problem with a lot of baked macaroni and cheeses
00:57is that the noodles are either undercooked,
00:59and they get crunchy on top like my friends,
01:02or they're overcooked, and they become like super mushy
01:05after they've baked.
01:06We're not gonna have that problem here.
01:08I am gonna cook the noodles ahead of time.
01:09You want them like super al dente
01:12so that when they finish cooking,
01:13they're the perfect texture.
01:15You can make natural appearances,
01:17but you gotta be pretending you're working the whole time.
01:21Pasta down, salted water.
01:23You know how we like it.
01:25You want it to kind of be tasting like the ocean in there
01:28because it's the only chance the pasta has to absorb the salt.
01:32What?
01:33I just love that line.
01:35Oh, it tastes like lotion?
01:36Dropping in a whole pound of elbows.
01:39I'm cooking this just about six to seven minutes
01:42until it's like super al dente.
01:44Now, time to grate the cheese.
01:45100%, you must grate your own cheese, okay?
01:49If you don't do anything else with this recipe,
01:50please grate your own cheese.
01:52All of those pre-shredded cheeses
01:53have a little bit of a coating on it,
01:55and it really keeps it from its maximum potential of melting.
02:00Plus, you get more bank for your buck
02:02because an eight ounce block of cheddar cheese
02:06yields like two and a half cups of cheese,
02:08not just two cups.
02:09So a good sharp cheddar is what you're looking for.
02:12You're gonna use a whole pound of cheese here,
02:14and that's gonna yield about five cups.
02:17The big reveal.
02:18I really packed it in there.
02:20She could have stopped sooner.
02:22There, look at all that cheese.
02:24See, no powder there.
02:26I'm doing a combination of the yellow sharp cheddar
02:30and then the white extra sharp cheddar
02:32just because I like that combo.
02:34You can add in whatever cheese you want,
02:36just try to use the same amount.
02:38In combination to this cheese,
02:40what I absolutely love in my mac and cheese
02:42is a little bit of cream cheese.
02:43So I'm just going in with like three ounces,
02:45which is a little less than half a block.
02:50The nudes, let's check the nudes.
02:52This has been six minutes.
02:54Oh yeah, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go.
02:57I'm gonna stop this cooking
02:58because I really don't want it to overcook.
03:01Now pay attention, this happens fast.
03:03Everything just gets dumped into the slow cooker.
03:05Now this mac and cheese does have egg in it.
03:08Egg, you say?
03:09I think some people think that's not allowed.
03:11Why do we feel like it's not allowed?
03:13Like what's the deal with that?
03:14Putting egg in your mac and cheese
03:16is very controversial
03:18because it can somewhat curdle up in there
03:21and you get little bits of scrambled egg.
03:22Not gonna mention names,
03:25but someone I know makes it like that.
03:28Not him, but in this version,
03:31because the eggs and everything
03:34incorporate so slowly and all together,
03:36it never happens like that.
03:38It just helps hold it together in a beautiful way.
03:43I'm gonna go in with one egg and one egg yolk
03:46and whisk that up all together.
03:48You're not gonna believe the creaminess
03:51of this mac and cheese when it's all done.
03:53In case you haven't noticed,
03:54I'm not making a bechamel sauce.
03:57The problem with the bechamel sauce,
03:58sometimes it leaves your mac and cheese
04:00feeling a little pasty, a little floury.
04:03We're not gonna have that here
04:04because we're not gonna have any bechamel
04:05and doesn't have any Velveeta or American cheese.
04:09So our butter and our cream cheese,
04:11we want to cut into cubes.
04:13That way as it melts slowly,
04:15it gets more evenly dispersed in there.
04:17This makes a lot also.
04:18And to me, this is just grill and season.
04:20You can have this done,
04:22and then all you have to do is grill your meats,
04:23make a salad, call it a day.
04:26Sir, can you get me some milk?
04:27Of course I can.
04:28Make yourself useful.
04:29There you go, chef.
04:30Oh, thank you.
04:32I'm gonna spray down the sides of my slow cooker
04:35because that cheese is gonna stick up.
04:38And then everything literally gets dumped in,
04:40starting with our cooked macaroni.
04:43Going in with some milk, about one and a half cups.
04:46We'll go in full fat, whole milk, all the things.
04:49And my mother-in-law never made mac and cheese
04:52without evaporated milk, okay?
04:55This is just old school as it gets.
04:57And I'm not really sure the science behind it.
05:00Also not sure behind the science
05:01of why my can opener always goes missing.
05:04Whatever it is about the science behind this
05:06is that it can be heated up and cooked without curdling.
05:11So the combination of this with the regular milk
05:13is gonna help carry that other milk
05:14through the cooking process.
05:16Okay, in we go.
05:17In goes our butter and our cream cheese.
05:22I don't know.
05:23I know what you're thinking.
05:24How is this gonna work?
05:25Okay, I'm gonna leave out a little bit of the cheese
05:28to put on top later,
05:30but you're gonna put most of it in right now.
05:32I'm gonna stir.
05:32You just wanna be sure everything gets mixed in evenly.
05:36Last thing, some salt and a little pepper
05:39if you wanna add in some Cajun seasoning,
05:41something like that.
05:43This is the time to do it.
05:44I'm using salted butter.
05:45So you don't need a ton.
05:47That, my friends, is all she wrote.
05:50Now I cook it on low for about two hours
05:53and then just before it's done,
05:54I'm gonna sprinkle on the rest of the cheese
05:56so that we still get that gooey topping.
06:00One hour timer to stir it.
06:02I hope I blow your mind with this one.
06:06This is after one hour.
06:09No curdling of the egg.
06:11Okay, it's been an hour and like 45 minutes.
06:15For the finishing touch,
06:16I'm gonna sprinkle on more cheese
06:18and then I'm gonna crank it up to high
06:20for 10 more minutes
06:21or until that's all melty and gooey.
06:25Right here, you seeing that?
06:26Oh, this is about to be good.
06:29Let me show you that I didn't lie to you, okay?
06:32Oh my gosh.
06:36Creamy.
06:37Oh my gosh.
06:40Creamy, no scrambled eggs.
06:42Cheesy.
06:43Let me just do the pasta check.
06:48It's kind of mind-blowing if you think about it.
06:51Obviously, this mac and cheese doesn't have a topping.
06:54Like if you like a topping with like crackers
06:56or breadcrumbs or something like that,
06:58I would toast it first in a little butter
07:00and then add it when you add that cheese.
07:02Back in for the final step
07:03if you really want that presentation.
07:04Just watch, though.
07:05I mean, do you see how creamy, hot, steamy?
07:10Look at that.
07:10Another thing that you should notice
07:12is how not dried out it is.
07:15Sometimes it's just too crunchy
07:16like it'll break your teeth.
07:17So let me just see.
07:25It is good.
07:26It's mac and cheese perfection.
07:29You can't make that up.
07:31I gotta find Roscoe to taste this.
07:33Oh, really?
07:34You ready?
07:35Here's the deal.
07:36This is comfort slash soul food slash all that.
07:40You got hot sauce?
07:41He does put hot sauce on his mac and cheese,
07:43but first you're gonna taste it.
07:44Ooh, look at that.
07:44I even got you a...
07:45Ooh.
07:49Oh, that's actually really good.
07:51Hold on.
07:51Oh, it tastes like mama.
07:54Grandma.
07:55It does.
07:57Creamy.
07:57You thought it was gonna be...
07:58It has to be mushy.
08:00Like you even get along the edge of some of that.
08:05You can do all that in a crock pot?
08:07You are invited to the barbecue.
08:09Yeah.
08:10I was hoping you would say that.
08:12You are invited to the barbecue.
08:13Thank you, chef.
08:14Where's your hot sauce?
08:15I knew it.
08:17I ate a lot.
08:18This is soul food mac.
08:20Can we get some collard greens too?
08:21Thank you.
08:25Hey, how are you?
08:26We're making macaroni and cheese in a crock pot today.
08:29I was gonna try that pizza.