Two recipe raves from yesterday

We went over to a friends house last night for dinner and she made home made macaroni and cheese in the crock-pot. I love home made mac & cheese so I couldn't wait to try it. The recipe did not disappoint. It was so good I am planning on making it later this week for us. I made Pudding Poke Cake for dessert. It was so easy and inexpensive to make and delicious. Here are the recipes.

CROCK POT MACARONI & CHEESE

Ingredients:
1 16 ounce box Barilla Elbow macaroni (cooked til al dente)
1/2 stick of butter
16 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed Cheddar Cheese soup
1/2 teasp salt (I omit this)
1 cup of whole milk (may sub low fat, but why?)
1/2 teasp dry mustard
1/2 teasp fresh cracked black pepper

Directions: While the macaroni is cooking...In a separate pan, mix butter and cheddar cheese. Heat on low/med until the cheese is melted. In a slow cooker, combine the cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well with a whisk. Then add drained macaroni and stir again with large spoon. Set the cooker to low and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
For those of you missing the crunchy bread crumb topping, you may make that separately and serve on the side, but really, it doesn't need it!
I borrowed this from the food network and tweaked it a bit...Enjoy!

Pudding Poke Cake

Original Recipe Yield 1 - 9x13 inch cake

Ingredients

* 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
* 2 (3.9 ounce) packages instant chocolate pudding mix
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 4 cups milk

Directions

1. Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for one 9x13 inch cake. Remove cake from oven. Poke holes at once down through cake to pan with the round handle of a wooden spoon. Holes should be at 1 inch intervals.

2. Combine the pudding mix with the confectioners' sugar and gradually stir in the milk. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed for not more than 1 minute. Do not over beat. Quickly, before pudding thickens, pour about 1/2 of the thin pudding evenly over the warm cake and into the holes. (This will make the stripes in the cake.) Allow the remaining pudding to thicken slightly then spoon over the top, and spread to frost the top of the cake. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Variations: a boxed butter cake mix and banana pudding for filling the holes and a chocolate pudding for the "frosting." Very much like banana Boston Cream pie. Yellow cake or white cake with butterscotch, pistachio, banana, coconut or vanilla pudding. Chocolate cake with chocolate, vanilla, or coconut pudding.