Cheesy, bacon-y, yum. Ladies ‘n gents . . . white cheddar mac ‘n cheese with bacon!
When did we become grown-ups???
My favorite meme floating around is about that horrifying moment when you look around for an adult and realize you are an adult. So you look for an older adult–an adultier adult. Someone better at adulting than you.
David and I are probably particularly bad at adulting just because we are such children at heart. Cartoons on Saturday mornings and hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows. (okay mine is loaded–david wants seven. yes, seven.) Juice over wine, soda and tea over coffee. Nickelcade and mini golf date nights, and believing in the magical powers of mac ‘n cheese. Sick? Mac ‘n cheese. Tired? Mac ‘n cheese. Melancholy? Mac ‘n cheese. Homesick? Mac ‘n cheese.
This past Christmas was David’s and my first Christmas without our parents – just us and fuzzybritches on the floor around the Christmas tree. It was bittersweet – a roller coaster between wonderfulness and missing home. Early on Christmas Eve, we couldn’t help our thoughts drifting to Socorro, where we knew family was singing carols by candlelight at the church. Later on Christmas Eve, we snuggled into the couch with the puppy and just sat in the dark with nothing on except the tree lights and Christmas music. I thought my heart would burst from being so full and happy. I fought to stay awake just so I could have another and another and another moment of that contented peace. Christmas morning was back to thoughts of Sandy, wishing we could be there eating quiche and cinnamon pull-a-part and watching everyone open their gifts.
So we ate mac ‘n cheese. Not exactly the traditional Christmas day lunch, but again–children. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And all was good. Or . . . at least . . . cheesy. And bacon-y.
So… for the kids or the kids-at-heart… white cheddar mac ‘n cheese with bacon! Where is it taking you back to?
wyldflour
6-8 large bowls
20 minPrep Time
40 minCook Time
1 hrTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 lb pasta - shells or macaroni
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons butter, divided, + extra for greasing the pan
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups skim milk
- 3 cups extra sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 cup fontina cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground garlic
- 7 slices bacon (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place bacon strips on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Start checking bacon after 15 minutes and pull when it is starting to crisp. Use tongs to move bacon to a paper towel-covered plate. Set aside. (Save bacon grease for greasing the pan, if you like.)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook pasta according to directions and set aside.
- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a large non-stick saucepan over medium heat.
- Add breadcrumbs and stir continuously over medium heat until thoroughly browned and toasted--about 1 minute. Pour into small bowl and set aside.
- Return saucepan to medium-low heat and melt 1/4 cup butter.
- Once melted, use a silicone whisk to whisk flour into butter to make a roux. Flour will brown and clump. Continue to whisk over heat for 30 seconds.
- Slowly pour milk into saucepan, whisking flour mixture into milk, until smooth.
- Heat milk/flour mixture over medium heat until it is almost simmering and starting to thicken.
- Add cheese - a half cup at a time - to the milk mixture. Stir with a spatula until all of the cheese is fully melted.
- Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and garlic to melted cheese.
- Grease 9 x 13 inch baking dish. (You can use the bacon grease to do this, if you like.) Add pasta. Pour cheese mixture over pasta and stir to combine. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes until bread crumbs are starting to crisp.
- Serve with crumbled bacon bits.
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