Today's the day. The First JAMM (Just Another Manic Monday) Carnival. And here's the poop. We're talking Comfort Food!

We're all short on time, patience and money these days. But we all want some comfort food every now and then. What can we have for dinner that won't take a day to cook and won't heat the whole house up while its cooking?  Read on.  These recipes come in at $39.50 to feed a family of four, take less than 4hours total to cook and you can keep your sanity, and maybe even relax a little while dinner's getting cooked.

Southern Style Creamy Mac& Cheese (with a twist)

Hint: You cook this in your crock pot so you don't have to stand over the stove and the kitchen stays cool cool cool in the summer time! you can even do the prep work and set your timer on your crock pot and it'll be ready when you get home from work.

Ingredients:

• 2  cup  uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8 ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
• 2 1/2  cup  (about 10-ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2  cup  sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
• 4  tablespoon  (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  whole milk
• 1/2  teaspoon  dry mustard
• 1/2  teaspoon  pepper

Directions:

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Drunk Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-pound) chicken
• Seaoned Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Ground Garlic (Not garlic salt)
• 1 (12-ounce) can beer
• 1 sprig rosemary
• Assorted barbecue and hot sauces, your choice

Wash and drain the chicken and pat dry. Season the chicken inside and out with the Seasoned Salt and Ground Black Pepper and Ground Garlic. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Prepare the charcoal grill. When the coals are hot and glowing, carefully push them over to the sides of the grill, leaving an open space in the middle of the grill. Open the can of beer and pour off approximately 1/4 cup. Insert the sprig of rosemary into the can, then place the beer can, keeping it upright, into the rear cavity of the chicken. Carefully place the chicken, standing up on the beer can, in the center of the grill, making sure not to spill the beer. Cover the grill and cook the chicken for approximately 1 hour, rotating the chicken as necessary. The chicken is done when the juice runs clear when pierced with a fork.

Carefully remove the beer can from the chicken using mitts and discard the can. Cut the chicken into halves or quarters. Serve plain or with sauces.

Note: 1 chicken serves 2 to 4, depending on appetites.

Serve with a Tossed Green Salad and Rolls. YUMMMMY.

What are your favorite comfort foods? Share your homegrown recipies and meal ideas with us. Leave your JAMM links below. Check out the Guidelines here.

Find out what I am doing right now by following me on Twitter! If you like this post then please consider subscribing to my full feed RSS. You can also subscribe by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox.

Tags: carnival, Chicken, comfort, comfort food, crock, JAMM, Monday, Southern Style