Mac N Cheese With Bacon And White Cheddar Cheese Recipes

KILLER MAC AND CHEESE WITH BACON

Steps:

• Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the bacon and set the pan over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Do not discard the bacon fat: Reserve that deliciousness!
• Add the butter and onion to the pan with the bacon fat; season with salt and cook until the onion is soft and aromatic, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 3 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in the milk, mustard and a few shakes of Tabasco. Season with salt and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the mixture is slightly thicker than heavy cream, 6 to 8 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than the instructions on the package suggest. Taste it: It should be toothsome, with just a little nugget of hard pasta still in the center-this is al dente. Drain the pasta.
• Add the Cheddar, fontina and Parmesan to the milk mixture and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed, adding a little more milk if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in the cooked bacon and pasta. The mixture should be very creamy and flavorful. Serve immediately. (If making ahead, transfer to a baking dish or ramekins, then reheat in a 375 degree oven.)

CHEDDAR-BACON MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook macaroni as directed on package. Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Stir in flour; cook 2 min. or until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk; cook on medium heat until mixture comes to boil, stirring constantly. Simmer on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; cook and stir 5 min. or until melted.
• Drain macaroni. Add to sauce with bacon; mix lightly. Spoon into 1 1/2 quart casserole; top with remaining cheese.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

MAC 'N CHEESE WITH BACON AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
• While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

MAC 'N CHEESE WITH BACON AND WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the elbow macaroni until al dente, 8 or 9 minutes, then drain and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 3-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Heat milk with 3 sprigs of thyme and 4 cloves of crushed garlic in a small pan, do not boil the milk.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.
• Remove the thyme sprigs and garlic cloves from the milk then whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture.
• Continue to cook until the mixture is smooth, whisking constantly. Once smooth, stir in 4-1/2 cups of the white cheddar cheese. Continue to cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add in the cooked macaroni and the chopped parsley. Stir to coat the macaroni and incorporate all ingredients then pour into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cook bacon until crispy. Then add the onion, the remaining two cloves of garlic (chopped) and the remaining thyme (leaves only this time). Cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• When the macaroni and cheese comes out of the oven, spread the bacon and onion mixture over the top, serve and enjoy.

WHITE CHEDDAR MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; return to pot., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until melted. Add to pasta; toss to coat.

ONE-PAN WHITE CHEDDAR MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Combine macaroni, milk, water, garlic salt, and salt in a Dutch oven on a stovetop over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently so noodles don't stick to the pan, until noodles are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat and stir in margarine and pepper until melted. Stir in Cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese until melted.
• Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Top pasta with bread crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and bacon bits.
• Place Dutch oven under the broiler until topping is lightly browned and crispy, 1 to 3 minutes. Top with chives and serve immediately.