Macaroni And Cheese With Spinach And Bacon Food

SPINACH-BACON MAC & CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt and adding spinach to the boiling water for the last minute.
• Meanwhile, cook and stir bacon in large saucepan until crisp. Use slotted spoon to remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Add flour to drippings; cook and stir 1 min. or until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened.
• Add 1 cup cheddar and Parmesan to saucepan; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until melted. Add pasta mixture and bacon; mix well.
• Spoon into 1-1/2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cheddar. Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

SPINACH AND BACON MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• In 5-quart Dutch oven, cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Return to Dutch oven; cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until crisp; remove to paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings.
• In 3-quart saucepan, heat butter and reserved bacon drippings over medium heat until butter is melted. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in flour, salt and pepper with whisk until smooth. Stir in milk; heat to boiling. Stir in cheese until melted and sauce is smooth.
• Pour cheese sauce over pasta; stir until coated. Stir in spinach. Reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon; stir remaining bacon into pasta mixture. Divide pasta mixture among 6 serving bowls; garnish with reserved bacon.

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.

KRAFT SPINACH MAC & CHEESE WITH BACON

Steps:

• Prepare Dinner as directed on package.
• Stir in spinach and pepper; cook and stir 2 min. or just until spinach is wilted.
• Stir in bacon.

LIGHT MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400F.
• Spray 8" square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• In small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the milk and flour until smooth.
• In heavy medium saucepan, heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk over medium heat until steaming.
• Add flour mixture; cook 2-3 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, whisking constantly.
• Remove from heat; stir in cheddar cheese until melted.
• Stir in cottage cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
• Rinse under cold running water; squeeze out excess moisture.
• Cook macaroni in large pot of boiling lightly salted water 4-5 minutes or until not quite tender, stirring often.
• (Macaroni will continue to cook while baking.) Drain; rinse with cold water.
• Drain again.
• In large bowl, stir together cheese sauce and macaroni.
• Spread half of the macaroni mixture in baking dish; spoon spinach over top.
• Spread remaining macaroni mixture over spinach layer; sprinkle with wheat germ.
• (Dish can be made to this point and refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator before baking.) Bake 35-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
• TIP*If you can't find wheat germ, substitute an equal amount of Parmesan cheese, cracker crumbs or bread crumbs.
• VARIATION: To make Southwestern Macaroni and Cheese with Peppers, substitute 1 cup grated pepper Jack cheese for 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.
• Omit the nutmeg.
• Add 1 (4 1/2-oz.) can chopped mild green chiles, 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro and dash cayenne pepper to cheese sauce.
• Omit spinach.
• Instead, cook 2 cups thawed frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables in 1 teaspoon olive oil 3 to 4 minutes or until tender.
• Replace spinach with pepper mixture.

WHITE CHEDDAR SPINACH-BACON MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook macaroni as directed on pkg., adding spinach for the last min. Cook bacon in large saucepan. Remove bacon; save drippings in pan.
• Add flour to drippings; cook and stir until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened.
• Stir in 1 cup Cheddar and Parmesan; cook and stir until melted. Add bacon and macaroni mixture; mix well.
• Spoon into 1-1/2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cheddar. Bake 20 min.

BACON-BROCCOLI MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package, using minimum cook time. Meanwhile, cook broccoli as directed on package.
• In 4-quart Dutch oven, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon; set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings. Cook shallots in bacon drippings over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens.
• Remove from heat. Add 2 cups of the Cheddar cheese and the Gouda cheese; stir until melted. Stir in cooked macaroni and broccoli and crumbled bacon. Spoon mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed crackers and remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese.
• Bake uncovered 15 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

BACON-SPINACH MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare Dinner in large saucepan as directed on package, using 3/4 cup milk. Add spinach, bacon, eggs and pepper; mix well.
• Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish. Toss bread cubes with butter; sprinkle over Dinner mixture.
• Bake 30 min. or until heated through.

SPINACH MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425.
• In medium sized pot, over medium heat, melt butter.
• Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes.
• Pour in the hot milk and cook until thickened.
• Add the spinach, cheese, seasonings, horseradish and mustard.
• Mix well.
• Combine with the cooked pasta.
• Place in a greased cassarole dish.
• Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until bubbling.

DOUBLE BACON, SPINACH AND CHEESE MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Chop 4 bacon rashers finely and cook in a pan. Once cooked, add the washed and trimmed spinach and the crushed garlic, cook until spinach is just wilted, about 45-60 seconds.
• You can either leave the spinach mixture as is, or puree to a paste. Set aside mixture to cool slightly while you make the meatloaf base.
• In a large bowl, add the meat, eggs, onion, zucchini, bread crumbs and sauce. I like to use hands to mix it well.
• Lay out a large rectangular peice of foil. Place the remaining bacon along the foil side ways, not lengthways. You want the ends of the bacon to overlap touch while the meatloaf is cooking.
• Gently place handfulls of the meat mix over the bacon. Cover the bacon and smooth out the meat with wet hands to create a 2cm (3/4 inch) thick meatloaf over the bacon.
• Pour the spinach and bacon mix over the meatloaf. Spread evenly over, leaviing a gap of at least 4 cm (just over 1 inch) lengthways. This will help the mix not to squeeze out when you roll it up.
• Over the spinach layer, sprinkle the cheese on top, not going past the spinach. The cheese will ooze out while cooking otherwise.
• Using the foil as a guide, roll the meatloaf up lengthways. Discard the foil. Pinch the ends of the meatloaf closing them sealed.
• Place meatloaf carefully seam side down on a lined baking tray (easier to clean later).
• Bake at 180oC (375 F) for 1 full hour.
• Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
• * Please note that bacon in Australia, NZ and UK has an eye of meat and are twice as long as bacon in the US (our bacon is 30 cm long, about 10 inches). US cooks may need extra bacon for the top of the meatloaf. If someone makes it from the US, please post a note as to how much you used. Thank you.

MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH SPINACH AND BACON

Steps:

• Cook the macaroni in boiling water.
• Drain and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan.
• Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.
• Whisk in the milk.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes (stirring frequently).
• Stir in the spinach (if using frozen squeeze out most of the moisture), bacon and macaroni.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350.
• Add the mixture to a lightly buttered casserole dish.
• Bake for 30 minutes (or until starting to brown).