Day 84.
I was hungry for a big bowl of pasta over the weekend. I haven't experimented with making pasta in the crockpot too much. I did make a lasagna earlier in the year that came out perfectly, and was interested in trying other noodles.
Although this could use some tweaking, the end result was what I was after.
The Ingredients.
--1 bag of your favorite pasta --I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice penne
--1 jar of marinara sauce
--any vegetables you might want to throw in. We only had a few leftover sliced mushrooms.
--cheese odds and ends. I used some shredded Mexican blend, some shredded parmesan and two string cheeses.
The Directions.
--rinse pasta in a colander (just so there's some added moisture)
--add a handful of pasta and a bit of sauce to your crockpot stoneware insert
--put in a bit of cheese
--keep layering ingredients in until you run out
--cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. This took 4 hours in my Rival Smart Pot.
The Verdict.
I was pleased that the pasta was tender in the middle. The pasta that hit the sides and the stuff on top was pretty crunchy. Adam suggested (a bit too late) that maybe I should have sprayed some cooking spray on the inside of the stoneware before layering in the ingredients. I think that would have helped. I think next time I might add 2 T of water to the very top noodles to keep them a bit more tender.
I'm also thinking some meat added to the mix would help with a touch more moisture.
Even though we didn't eat the crunchy noodles, there was plenty of food for the four of us, with leftovers to spare.
I need to try some macaroni and cheese!
26 comments:
Here's mine:
1/2 pound macaroni
4 cups milk
2 eggs
4 cups cheese of your choice (cheddar being the obvious choice)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. mustard
Spray the inside of the crock with cooking spray. Beat eggs with milk. Stir in the cheese, macaroni, and seasonings. Dump into the crock and cook on low for 5 hours.
Yummy! I miss my crockpot.
alison, thank you! I'm totally going to try this.
xox
steph
I love any recipe that uses up leftover bits of cheese =)
ooh, alison! thanks!
i was looking for a mac and cheese recipe.....steph, have you tried mac and cheese in the crock yet?
(ps. i love your blog so much it inspired me to start my own!
http://meteorblogogist.blogspot.com/)
I am going to have a nervous breakdown of happiness and glory - my daughter just sent me the link to your blog with only a subject line "your dream come true".
You are my IDOL. I love my crockpot. I love one pot cooking. I love fix and forget. I love the house smelling like good cooking. I LOVE this blog.
THANK YOU for existing!
holy yum that looks delicious!
PASTA IN A CROCKPOT! Who'da thunk? I am almost looking forward to school starting back, so that I can spend all day working and come home to a ... Okay, not. But I do so love my crockpot!
I had the EXACT same problem, except with lasagna. All the noodle on the edges were crunchy. I even added a couple of extra cups of water! Your ziti looks really good though, and I will most assuredly be trying it some time soon.
oh i can't wait to try this one! we love baked ziti and doing it in the crockpot is sooo much easier!! thanks!
yes!! pasta in the crock. i've done a veggie lasagna and it comes out great. i add about 1/4 cup extra water to it and it keeps things moist.
your recipe sounds yummy. i think i'll try it next. thanks for helping feed my family!! LOL
Macaroni and cheese in the crockpot is to die for! I got on the kick of making it this way after having my husband's Grandmothers that way. This is the only way she'll make it. It is delicious and so easy!
Thanks for sharing all of the wonderful crockpot recipes!
I don't know what is wrong with me and/or my crockpot. I have made 3 recipes from your website and none of them have turned out for me! I tried this one tonight. Very crunchy pasta in spite of the fact that I put in the 2 tbsp of water and I also put in ground beef. I think I just need a bunch of water for this. I may try it again. I plan on trying the Spanish rice recipe this week too. I'll let you know how it turns out. One thing I noticed is my crockpot cooks very quickly so the chicken tacos I made were overcooked. I have a Rival crock pot with the timer (Is that a smart pot?.
Hi Nikki, I'm so sorry that you are having a hard time---I hate it when things don't work out.
If your pot consistently cooks hot, give Rival a call or email. Something might be a bit off.
The crockpot I havehas 4 buttons: two for high, and two for low. Then it clicks automatically to warm. If I'm out of the house at all, I cook on low. If I'm home to monitor what's happening, I'll cook on high. Different altitudes, humidity, etc. all will effect the cooking times. This ziti is actually a pretty "adventurous" recipe--the meat and potato type dishes are much easier to wiggle around with.
if you are still having trouble, please email me, and I'll see if I can talk you through better.
xox
steph
Do you think this would still work without cheese (possibly adding some meat) for non-dairy folks? I have 9+ of marinara sauce, a bunch of Tinkyada pasta, and a farmer's market for vegetables nearby. In the winter, I'd bet this would be great with some caramelized (pre-roasted) vegetables :)
Hi ~m! I don't think the cheese adds much to this pasta dish. After making the mac and cheese, I'm tempted to suggest adding a bit more moisture in the form of water, milk, or possibly V8---this pasta was much more crunchy than the mac and cheese.
Or, don't use the full bag of pasta. or both!
ack! Keep me posted on what you end up doing---this recipe could definitely use some tweaking.
xoxox
steph
this sounds so totally yummy and i am going to attempt it tonight, even if it means we eat way late!! :)
I'm going to try this for a early dinner tonight! Thanks for the recipe!
Did you use cooked or uncooked pasta for this one? Does it matter??
Hi AJnMJ's mom---I used raw pasta. I was interested in seeing if it cooked well. it didn't really...lol
It would probably do much better with already-cooked, al dente noodles.
xoxo
steph
We followed this using dry penne pasta and added a bit more water plus one can of fire roasted tomatoes (since there seemed a bit too little sauce). We layered it with some mozzarella slices and parmesan shreds, added some dried wild mushrooms (which was the reason for the extra water) and let it go. I stirred it up once towards the end to get the dry outside bits mixed in so it ended up less "layered" and more mixed, but it was delicious! Another keeper recipe.
Looks great. Have you found a good crock pot macaroni and cheese? I need one for my kids!!! ha ha!
I made the baked ziti recipe in the crockpot. I sprayed the crock with cooking spray first. We used mini farfalle instead of ziti. I added about 1/4 water to the bottom of the jar of sauce and swished it around to get the last of the sauce out. I added some frozen spinach and chopped zucchini. I stirred it all around once an hour so nothing would get stuck to the sides. I took about 3.5 hours on low to cook all the way through. Pretty good!
Would it help if your final layer was the sauce? I sometimes have this problem with regular baked lasagna too -- especially when using the no-bake noodles -- and I find that loading it up with sauce on the top helps.
Perhaps some ricotta cheese would keep things moist too?
I've been so inspired by your blog! I made your chick'n'dumplings and it was great! Not at all like my mom's but I loved it!
Tonight I was inspired by this Baked Ziti recipe but I riffed on it and it's perfect!
I put 4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts, a bag of sliced fresh mushrooms, a bag of pasta (it's this funny shape I get at Costco that looks like mini lasagna noodles), a large can of Trader Joe's marinara sauce, a half cup of red wine and what was left of a box of chicken broth (maybe 2 C.) and some shredded mozzarella.
OMG - it's moist but not too soupy. It smells fantastic (the wine?). I am so glad I read all the comments from your loyal readers. All that moisture made all the difference I think.
Thank you thank you thank you!
Here's one I've tried a couple of times and it's amazing. I made it in my 6-quart
2 16 oz. packages of ziti
1 - 2 jars of pasta sauce (I'll explain later)
48 oz. of ricotta
16 ounces of mozzarella, shredded
about 1 cup of fresh mozzarella, cubed
about 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, shreeded
Spray inside of crock with cooking spray - or don't. I've done it both ways and it doesn't make a heck of a lot of difference. Dump ziti into crock. Add pasta sauce and mix with ziti. I used one jar because I like it light on the tomato sauce. Use more if you like it heavier. Save jar and lid. Mix in ricotta, fresh mozzarella cubes, and about 3/4 or the shredded mozzarella. Combine well. Top with remaining shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Add about 1/4 of a cup of water to jar, screw lid on, and shake. Pour over the ziti mixture. Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or until it starts to brown on top. I push the noodles down 2 to 3 times while cooking with the back of a large, cooking spray-covered spoon, but I'm not sure this is even necessary. None of the noodles are crispy, ever. I've also halved this recipe and it works out fine.
Enjoy!
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