It Is a COMFORT Food Kind of Night

There are two foods that make me happy...MEATLOAF and MAC & CHEESE.  There is just something about the two together that warms my soul.  Weird, I know.

My meatloaf recipe is one that I got out of a fundraiser cookbook I bought from someone about 10 yrs ago and unfortunately there was only a few recipes that I was really interested in.  The meatloaf being one of them.  It is simple and delish and generally gets about an 8 thumbs up at my house.  I have some semi-picky eaters so it just depends on the mood the children are in to decide if they like it or not.  Typical I guess.

This Mama's Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c oatmeal (quick)
1 egg
1 c shredded cheese
3/4 c milk
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl them put in a loaf pan.  Cook @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.

And then there is everyone's favorite, Mac & Cheese.  I HATE it out of the box!  I think the older I get the more picky I get so I have been trying several different mac & cheese recipes cause I like it creamy and mushy.  I tried one recipe that was on the stove top and it was...O-K...but not great.  Then I tried one that you bake and well, it was...O-K...but not great.  So now I am trying a crock pot recipe.  Hopefully, this will be THE ONE!  Here is the recipe and I will report back how many thumbs it earned!

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

1 1/2 cups milk

1 can condensed milk (Pet or Carnation)

3 eggs, whisked

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1 1/2 cups italian shredded cheese

pinch of salt

bag of elbow macaroni cooked according to package

parmesan cheese

Spray the crock pot with Pam. Whisk together in the crock pot...milk, Pet milk, eggs, butter and salt.  Add the italian cheese and stir.  Stir in the noodles and top with some parmesan cheese.  Cook on high for 30 minutes then low for 2-2 1/2 hours.

Crossing my fingers!

Update:  Well...that was a  FAIL!  I had it all planned...pick kids up from school (home by 3:30) then throw everything in the crock and ready for dinner at 6:30.  Needless to say, my plan backfired when we got home and I started the noodles and combining the milk, eggs, butter and...and...WHAT?  I don't have any condensed milk?!?!?!  Surely, I do!  But I was wrong, so the kids and I jumped in the mini-van and ran to the store.  I had enough sense to turn off the burner under the noodles BUT we were gone for 20 minutes so when we got back, the noodles were MUSH!  I went ahead and used them anyways since I knew I was limited on time so I threw it all together and turned it on high. I now know that was not smart cause I LEFT it on high for the full 2 hours so the already mushy mac noodles were complete and total mush when I served them.  Good thing though, EVERYONE ate them and gave them a 2 thumbs up!  I was wiping the sweat off my brow cause I just knew everyone would turn their noses at it but they pleasantly surprised me!  Now the meatloaf, on the other hand, only got a 8 thumbs up (as usual).  Two of the kids aren't big fans of meatloaf but they ate it so they only gave it a one thumbs up each.