My earliest introduction to Mac and Cheese was the ones from Kraft Dinner. You mix the mysterious yellow packet of ingredients with the macaroni, water, margarine and milk, then instantly you have dinner. I loved it as a kid because I had no idea what I was eating.
M wanted to cook up a grown up version of mac and cheese with real cheese, fragrant herbs and of course BACON.
It’s a great dish for parties and your friends will love the Creamy Bacon Mac and Cheese.
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- 2 cups dried macaroni pasta
- a pack of crisp bacon, chopped
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 3 cups half and half
- 2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
- 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- 2 tablespoon basil, chopped
- 2 tablespoon green onion, chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
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Prep the ingredients – basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and green onions.
Pre-shred the different cheeses and set them aside.
In a pot, bring water to a boil and add in pinch of salt. Then add the macaroni. This should take about 7 minutes.
Once the pasta is cooked to al dente, drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. The set it aside for later.
In a pot, heat the butter on medium heat until melted. Whisk in the flour to create a roux and try to remove any lumps in the mixture. Then mix in the half and half.
Then add in the rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic. Keep on whisking until the mixture gets thick enough to cover the whisk.
Mix in the cheddar and parmigiano reggiano cheese. Stir until all of the cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix in the macaroni, cheese mixture, green onions, and basil.
Prepare your bacon in a frying pan. You can alternatively use a oven, but I find the grease splatters a bit of a pain to clean up. Cook them until they are nice and crispy. Don’t be afraid to steal a few pieces to snack on. That’s why we prepared a whole pack.
Once the bacon has cooled off a bit, chop them up into little pieces.
Mix them into the macaroni mixture until well combined.
Place the mixture into a casserole pan and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
Put the mac and cheese into your oven at 400 degree oven for 30 minutes in the middle rack.
Once it’s ready, let it cool and serve!
