This meal isn’t exactly Ukrainian, but it reminded me a lot of nalysnyky (Ukrainian crepes), so that’s what I’m calling it. Like nalysnyky, this dish has cottage cheese, eggs, and sour cream. Unlike nalysnyky, this is very simple to make. Just toss everything in a crockpot and in a few hours you have a great dinner.
3 cups macaroni
2 eggs
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups light sour cream
1 1/2 cups diced ham
1 1/2 cups 2% cottage cheese
1 sweet red pepper, diced
2 tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
Cook macaroni in boiling water until tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Drain and add to crockpot.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, mix in 2 cups of cheese, sour cream, ham, cottage cheese, red pepper, parsley and pepper. Stir into macaroni; smooth top.
Cover and cook on low until bubbly and hot, about 4 hours. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and cook until melted, about 5 minutes.
I made this when Tony and I went to an Olympic hockey game and we had a babysitter watching the boys. I made it in the afternoon while the boys were napping, and left it cooking in the crockpot so the sitter and the kids had something ready to eat for dinner. I didn’t bother with the extra cup of cheddar on top because I wanted to make it as easy as possible for the sitter. I wasn’t there obviously, and I forgot to ask the sitter what they thought of it, so I can’t tell you about that. I did, however, enjoy the leftovers very much. Tony took some to work and mentioned to me later that he thought it was really good. The only thing was that the description in the cookbook stated that it’s ‘super creamy’ and this wasn’t the case at all. The cheese was more curdled than creamy. It’s very possible it cooked too long, I don’t know what time the sitter unplugged it. In any case, it was tasty, just don’t get your heart set on a really creamy mac & cheese when you’re making this. I was just thinking that next time I should try this with Kielbasa instead of ham to add to the ‘Ukrainianess’ of this dish.
-Recipe from Canadian Living: The Slow Cooker Collection
My kids like to whine, especially when it comes to the food they eat, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to make tasty and healthy meals for them. Follow along as I share family-friendly recipes and reviews from my picky family members, who I lovingly call “The Whine Critics.” 
