I have only one requirement for mac and cheese: that it be all melty. There is a story behind this, of course. It involves my decision not to eat carbs (in retrospect, kind of a crappy one) in an attempt to shed some pounds (now, I just go to the gym). I was going crazy, looking at a giant crock pot full of mac and cheese that Mom had made for Jesse and Suzi. I wanted it. She said she'd make me a cheesesteak meat with all kinds of cheese on it. I had only one question: "Can you make it all melty?"
The rest, as they say, is history. My mom's mac & cheese became Jim's Mom's Super Melty Mac & Cheese. And it's amazingly easy to make. You'll need a big crock pot/slow cooker -- the bigger the better.
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Elbow Macaroni
- 5 to 6 cups of cubed cheese (recommended mixture: Colby, Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar, Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp)
- 3.5 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/4 cup French's Deli Mustard
Ok, you've got everything together? Good. The first thing you need to do is to start cubing that cheese into tiny cubes. Something like half an inch on each side. It's all going to melt, but smaller cubes will melt more quickly and evenly and you won't have lumpy cheese -- lumpy cheese is bad. Also, it helps if you look like a crazy, deranged person with a knife who is ready to kill anyone who crosses him when you are doing this. Trust me on this one.
Once your cheese is cubed, it's time to start boiling some water. You'll need a big pot of salted water. Put it on a fire and start boiling it. Once it gets rolling, add the macaroni. You'll want to cook it for four minutes, then drain and shock it with cold water to stop the cooking process.
While the water is boiling, you can get some of the other work done. Add 3 cups of milk, and the half stick of butter to the crock pot. Mix the 2 tablespoons of corn starch with reserved 1/2 cup of milk, and then add to the crock pot. Add the mustard.
Now it is the time to add the macaroni and the cheese. Add it. Cover. Set your crock pot on high. Wait three hours.
As Tom Petty once said, the waiting, it's the hardest part.
But after three hours, things get awesome.
The mac and cheese is going to look like this:
What do you do with this? You EAT IT!
