Jan 30, 2012
This wasn't bad by any means, but with the ingredients, I thought it would have much more flavor. To aid with the aforementioned sticking to the sides of the slow cooker, I thoroughly sprayed the sides and bottom, and sprayed again after I put the pasta and sauce into the slow cooker. Then midway through, I opened the lid (a no no, I know) and sprayed the sides a bit more. This actually made the sides brown up quite nicely and it was the tastiest part of the casserole, in my opinion! It didn't stick whatsoever.
We added parmesan on top, which helped, but next time I would play with the spices I added, and perhaps some fresh garlic and onion would help as well as parmesan all added to the sauce. I did make it slightly healthier by using nonfat greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and spraying the pasta with cooking spray rather than mixing with oil. I also used nonfat cottage cheese.
I may add fat free cheddar and/or jack cheese to come up with a spin on mac and cheese, or perhaps even play with the idea of adding bbq shredded pork and cheddar to the mix. This is a great base to build upon.
—Kristen Kelley