Savory Bacon Mac And Cheese Food

MAC AND CHEESE WAFFLES WITH BACON

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour bacon fat into a heatproof container (save for another use) and wipe the skillet clean with paper towels.
• Melt the butter in the large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until tan in color, about 1 minute. Add the milk and bring up to a simmer, whisking every couple of minutes, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the three cheeses in batches, whisking after each addition, until melted. Remove from the heat.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions until al dente, then drain. Transfer to a large bowl, add 3/4 of the cheese sauce and 3/4 of the cooked bacon and stir to combine. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet, spread it to the edges and refrigerate for 1 hour. Reserve the remaining cheese sauce for serving.
• Preheat your waffle iron to medium high. Spray with nonstick cooking spray and add enough mac and cheese to cover most of the iron. Press down hard to squeeze the waffle iron shut (don't worry if some mac and cheese falls out). Cook until golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes.
• Meanwhile, reheat the reserved cheese sauce over low heat. Plate the waffle with a side of cheese sauce and garnish with some of the remaining bacon. Repeat with the remaining mac and cheese.

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.

BACON MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the bacon in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook until crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
• Leave 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan; discard the rest of the fat.
• Add the flour, then whisk until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Pour in the water and whisk until smooth and just thickened.
• Add the milk and whisk until combined.
• Stir in the pasta, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and pepper, then bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is done.
• Turn the heat to low, then stir in the cheddar cheese. Keep stirring until the sauce is smooth. If you need to thin the sauce, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
• Stir in half of the bacon.
• Sprinkle the remaining bacon over the top, along with the parsley. Serve immediately.

SAVORY BACON, CHEDDAR AND SCALLION MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 12-cup muffin pan or a giant 6-cup muffin pan with butter.
• Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Heat the 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and cook until slightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Whisk the egg, broth, milk, olive oil, sugar, mustard and salt in a large bowl. Gently stir in the flour and baking powder until evenly combined.
• Fold in the cheese, cooked scallions and cooked bacon.
• Divide the mixture among the muffin cups and bake until the muffins puff up, are golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes for a 12-cup muffin pan or 25 to 27 minutes for a giant 6-cup muffin pan.
• Let the muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire a rack before serving.

BACON MAC AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Combine cheeses. Bring 1-1/2 cups milk just to boil in medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk flour and remaining milk in small bowl until blended; gradually whisk into heated milk. Cook 2 to 3 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Add 1-1/2 cups cheese mixture; stir until melted. Stir in pasta, macaroni and bacon.
• Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cheese mixture and bread crumbs.
• Bake 12 to 15 min. or until macaroni mixture is heated through and bread crumbs are lightly browned.

BACON MAC AND CHEESE MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Put the butter in a medium bowl. Brush the Bundt pan with some of the butter to lightly coat.
• Cut the biscuits into quarters. Combine the Cheddar and powdered cheese mix in a large bowl and stir together.
• Working in batches, toss one-third of the biscuits in the melted butter, roll them in the cheese mixture to lightly coat and add them to the Bundt pan so they are nestled together in an even layer; sprinkle with one-third of the bacon. Repeat to make 2 more layers of biscuits rolled in cheese and the bacon. Sprinkle the top with any leftover cheese mixture and drizzle with any leftover butter.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until puffed and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more. Loosen the bread from the sides of the pan with a knife or offset spatula. Carefully invert the pan onto a serving plate, remove the pan and serve hot.