Bacon And Pepper Jack Mac Cheese Food

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.

PENNE WITH CHICKEN IN CREAMY PEPPER JACK CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Over medium heat, cook bacon until semi-crisp, reserving drippings.
• Drain bacon on paper towels and crumble when cool.
• Sauté sliced chicken in bacon drippings until no longer pink.
• Remove from pan and set aside.
• In the same skillet, add the butter and cook onion, peppers and garlic until just tender.
• Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
• Add 3/4 cup of the broth, and the milk. Cook and stir until bubbly.
• Stir in cheese and sour cream; then add the chicken and crumbled bacon to the sauce.
• Reheat, stirring to melt cheese, but do no allow to boil to avoid separation. If the sauce is too thick, add the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth and/or a little more milk.
• Serve over cooked penne pasta and sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.

FIVE CHEESE BACON MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the macaroni according to the package directions; omitting salt. Drain and set aside.
• While the pasta is cooking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook 2-3 minutes, or until slightly golden and bubbly.
• Slowly add the milk, followed by the half and half, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Let the mixture bubble and thicken, then slowly add the chicken broth while continuing to whisk. Let cook 3-5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the pepper, and cream cheese, and cook until the cream cheese has melted.
• Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar, colby jack, mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Whisk until the cheese has melted. Stir the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce, then add the crumbled bacon, reserving about two tablespoons. Spoon the pasta mixture into an 8 x 8 baking dish.
• Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small bowl, and whisk together the melted butter, bread crumbs, and remaining 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the pasta, and top with the remaining bacon pieces.
• Bake 15 minutes, or until the bread crumbs are toasted and the cheese sauce is bubbly. Serve hot.

BACON MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions., Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Saute jalapeno in reserved drippings. Add milk and cheeses to pan; cook and stir until blended. Stir in the onion powder, chili powder, salt, pepper and pepper sauce. , Drain macaroni; add to pan with the onions and cooked bacon. Mix well. , Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through.

CHICKEN WITH BACON AND PEPPER JACK CHEESE

Steps:

• Grease a baking dish and set aside. Heat the oven to 375°.
• Fry or bake* the bacon until almost crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Cook the bacon the day before and refrigerate for even quicker prep time.
• Wash the chicken and pat dry. Put a chicken breast half between sheets of plastic wrap and pound to a uniform thickness of about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Repeat with the remaining chicken breast halves. Dredge in the flour to coat thoroughly.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the garlic half, stirring around in the butter mixture. Remove the garlic and discard after about 30 seconds.
• Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned cooked through. It should register 165° on an instant read thermometer.
• Arrange the chicken breasts in the baking dish. Spread about 1 tablespoon of thick barbecue sauce over each chicken breast half. Top with a slice or two of bacon. Cut bacon slices in half to cover the chicken. Top the bacon with a slice of pepper jack cheese.
• Bake the chicken for about 5 to 6 minutes, until cheese is melted.
• Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving, if desired.

CONTEST-WINNING PEPPER JACK MAC

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside., In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, mustard, pepper and Worcestershire sauce until smooth; gradually add milk and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in cheeses until melted. Stir macaroni into cheese mixture., Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, bacon, Parmesan cheese and onions. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.