Slow Cookin' Sunday

I have a major crush on my slow cooker. In turn, Eric has a huge crush on me because of the yumminess that comes out of said slow cooker. I feel like anything I throw into my slow cooker comes out tasting INCREDIBLE. Also, so many times I don’t have the exact ingredients that a recipe calls for, or maybe I don’t have the right amount, but somehow, it always works out. Magic!

This weekend has been one of the best weekends ever. Friday night E and I decided to have a relaxing night in. Well, it wasn’t too relaxing since we were absolutely FREEZING in the living room. You see, ever since we decided to go anti-heat this winter, the living room is the coldest room in our apartment. The bedroom is the warmest. So at about 7:30, we decided to stay there for the rest of the night with all of the blankets we could find and pop in The Dark Knight. The only problem was – how were we to properly eat snacks in bed? That’s when we decided we need to buy this:

The MALM Occasional Table from IKEA! It comes with wheels so you can keep it at the foot of the bed, and roll it up when you need something to set your laptop, book, breakfast in bed, movie snacks, etc. on.

On Saturday, my lovely parents came to Charlottesville to do lunch and of course go to the UVA vs. Boston College basketball game. I looooove my Hoos! We are impressively good this year, especially with a team full of freshmen. It makes me excited for the years to come! Eric got really good tickets from his work and UVA won, so it was a great game. 

Yeeaaahhh Joooeeeeyyy!!
(to be screamed at least once at every game)

Justin Anderson is super fun to watch.

Picture credit goes to Matt Riley

Also, when Dad wasn’t looking, Mom slipped me a $20. Wooohoooo!! With our newly found riches, Eric and I decided to do dinner and a movie!

Like many other Charlottesville residents, E and I are obsessed with Marco and Luca’s. It’s amazing how yummy something so simple and cheap can be! I usually get a double order of dumplings, BUT since I’m trying to be healthier, I stuck with a single order. Eric got dumplings and sesame noodles, and we each got a bottle of water. Guess what our total was? Only $12! I love delicious bargains.

We’re not done yet – we came across another great deal. Since we missed Skyfall in the regular theater, we were stoked to see that it was now showing at Carmike, home of the best popcorn. Get this: We got 2 tickets, a medium popcorn, and 2 medium drinks for $12.25.

So now you see, with all our basketball-watching, money-saving, movie-watching madness this weekend, we needed a lazy, slow-cookin’ Sunday!

I present to you: Slow Cooking Mac and Cheese

I actually got this recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff and made just a few changes! It was so creamy, delicious, and filling. Eric even asked if he could bring some leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Usually I’m the one forcing leftovers on him. This mac and cheese was THAT good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions: Boil the elbow macaroni in lightly salted water until al dente, about 5-6 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in both cheeses and stir until melted. Spray slow cooker ( I used 6 qt.) with non-stick cooking spray. Combine cheese mixture (it’s OK if it’s a glommy mess of solidified cheese and butter), soup, sour cream, milk, dry mustard, salt, and pepper in prepared slow-cooker. Stir in the drained macaroni. Cook on low for 2 hours, stirring after about 1 hour, and then again when there are about 30 minutes left.

Serve and enjoy! We enjoyed it so much that I totally forgot to take pictures of the finished product in the slow cooker. I do however have a picture of Eric’s precious leftovers!

Yummm….so creamy!