Fall weather has set in here in Oregon, which means I’m ready for some comfort food. You know, casseroles, stews, soups and anything with cheese. It makes me feel good just thinking about it. Am I right? And what better way to enjoy the ooey gooey deliciousness of cheese than deep fried?!
You can use any macaroni and cheese recipe. I’ve seen this done with the boxed mac and cheese but I just couldn’t do it. I had to make homemade macaroni and cheese that was extra cheesy and extra yummy. Awhile ago, we made a fantastic Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese that would work great. But I wanted to try a crock pot recipe to see what I thought. Both recipes are delicious! You can make the Macaroni and Cheese one night and then fry it up another night for another dinner.
Here’s how you do it.
Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cheddar cheese soup
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
Boil noodles for 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Spray your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Add noodles, and other ingredients and stir. It’s okay if it looks strange and not combined. Cook on low setting for 2 hours. Stir and serve!
Make your Macaroni and Cheese. While it’s still warm, scoop it into a 9×9 (or any sized) pan lined with parchment paper. Pat it down a little so it’s flat and there aren’t air pockets in the middle. If you want to make it extra delicious and cheesy, add some small cubes of cheese before you add it to the pan. Gently stir it in but you don’t want it to melt and get mixed in. You want the chunks of cheese.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into squares.
Dip each square in buttermilk and then your breadcrumb mixture. For the breadcrumb mixture we used:
3/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
dash of salt and pepper
In a large skillet, heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil over medium high heat. Cook each piece fro about 2 minutes on each side. The mac and cheese is already cooked so you are just heating it through and getting the outside golden brown and crunchy.
Don’t they look amazing?
Remember when I said to stir in cubes of cheese before putting the mac and cheese in the pan? This is the reason.
Look at all the cheese in there! It was do good. My son couldn’t get enough! He dipped his in ranch dressing, which, at first, I thought was a sin. But I tried it and, oh yeah, he’s a genius. It was so good!
Crunchy on the outside and cheesy and gooey on the inside.
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