Mac And Cheese With Peas And Bacon Food

EASY MAC 'N CHEESE WITH BACON AND PEAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Prepare Dinner as directed on package. Stir in peas.
• Spoon into 1-1/2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with bacon.
• Bake 15 min. or until heated through.

BACON AND PEA MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish or eight 12-ounce ramekins.
• For the bechamel: Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring often, until just crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the 3 1/2 cups milk, the parsley, peppercorns, crushed red pepper, bay leaf and nutmeg in another medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then remove from the heat and keep warm.
• When the bacon is crisp, remove it with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, leaving 6 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the saucepan. If you have less than 6 tablespoons, make up the difference with the butter and heat over medium heat until melted. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture is doughy and smells a bit nutty, about 1 minute.
• Strain in the warm milk about a half cup at a time into the flour mixture and cook, whisking to incorporate after each addition. The bechamel should be smooth and velvety. If it's chunky or too thick, whisk in some more milk.
• For the mac 'n' cheese: Remove the bechamel from the heat and add all of the cheeses; whisk to combine. Fold in half of the bacon. Next, fold in the macaroni, then the peas. Transfer to the prepared baking dish or ramekins. If using ramekins, place them on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Combine the breadcrumbs with the remaining bacon pieces, the melted butter and a pinch each of salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the mac 'n' cheese and bake until the sauce is bubbly and the crust is browned on top, 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the baking vessel).
• Let rest for 10 minutes then serve.

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 AND CHEESE WITH ASPARAGUS AND PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring, until crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Add the scallions to the Dutch oven (reserve 1 tablespoon of the dark scallion greens for topping). Cook over medium heat until softened, about 1 minute. Add the flour and whisk until toasted, 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the mustard powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as the label directs for al dente, adding the asparagus to the pot in the last minute of cooking. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
• Whisk the cream cheese into the sauce until smooth. Reduce the heat to low and add the Parmesan and Jack cheese, a little at a time, until fully melted. Remove from the heat if the pasta is not done yet.
• Stir the pasta, asparagus and peas into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Thin with the reserved cooking water, if needed (the sauce will thicken as it sits). Divide among bowls. Top with the bacon and reserved scallion greens.

MAC AND CHEESE AND PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. When you have 1 minute of cook time left, pour in the frozen peas. Drain and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large high-sided 10-inch saute pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk. Reduce to low heat, bring to a simmer and cook until it becomes a thin gravy, about 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese and break up until smooth. Add the white pepper and ground mustard. Remove from the heat, add the bourbon if using and whisk to combine until fully incorporated. Stir in the Cheddar and American cheeses and cook until all the cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed.
• Add the cooked pasta and peas to the cheese sauce and stir to thoroughly combine. Taste again and salt and pepper as needed before serving.

MAC AND CHEESE WITH PEAS AND BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil on the stove top. Cook macaroni until al dente, following package directions.
• While the pasta cooks, melt butter in large microwavable mixing bowl. When pasta is done, drain and pour into the bowl, mixing to coat with butter.
• Stir in heavy cream and cheeses. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste. (I used about 6 turns of the pepper mill, 6 shakes of Italian seasoning, and just a pinch of salt.) Stir thoroughly. Add frozen peas and stir again.
• In frying pan over low to medium heat, cook two pieces of bacon. As the bacon gets close to being crisped, add the garlic cloves and cook until they are clear. Drain bacon and garlic on paper towels.
• Pour the macaroni mixture into an 8x8 baking pan. Break the bacon into bits. Sprinkle the bacon and garlic over the top of the macaroni mixture.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is crispy.

PASTA WITH BACON AND PEAS

Steps:

• Place ricotta, parmesan, butter, salt and pepper in a large bowl. set aside. Fry bacon in skillet til crisp. Transfer bacon to paper plate to drain, crumbling once cooled. Reserve pan and bacon grease.
• To the bacon pan, add onion and cook about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Transfer onion mixture to cheese mixture.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water. When it is just 1 minute till done, add peas to water.
• Reserving 1 cup of pasta/pea water, drain pasta and peas. Add half of the pasta water to the cheese mixture along with the lemon juice and mix till smooth.
• Add pasta and peas to the cheese mixture and toss to coat, adding more reserved water as necessary to moisten pasta. Stir in bacon bits, adjust seasoning, and serve.

BACON, PEA & BASIL MACARONI

Steps:

• Fry the bacon and leeks in the oil for 10 mins until the bacon is golden and the leeks soft. Tip in the peas and heat through. Meanwhile, boil the pasta and heat the grill to high.
• Reserve 150ml of the cooking water before you drain the pasta, then add it, the soft cheese, half the grated cheese and the mustard to the pan with the veg. Stir until the cheese melts into a creamy sauce. Stir in most of the basil and the pasta, then scatter with the rest of the cheese. Grill for 2-3 mins until the cheese melts. Scatter with basil to serve.