White Cheddar Macaroni With Bacon And Thyme Food

WHITE CHEDDAR MACARONI WITH BACON AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese around the inside of the dish.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the penne uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Place the bacon pieces into a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Retain 1/4 cup of bacon drippings. Set the bacon pieces aside.
• Melt butter and bacon drippings together in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour, stirring frequently until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in the thyme, salt, and pepper, and then whisk in 1/4 cup Parmesan and 3 cups Cheddar cheese, stirring constantly until the Cheddar cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth and thick.
• Stir the cooked penne pasta into the cheese sauce, then lightly mix in the cooked bacon. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese over the top. Cover the dish with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the pasta is hot and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, and turn on the broiler. Remove the foil, and broil the dish until the cheese topping is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes.

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.

WHITE CHEDDAR MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook macaroni pasta per package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add butter and cook until melted.
• Remove saucepan from heat and add flour. Whisk constantly for 1 minute.
• Return saucepan to medium heat and add milk and stir to combine.
• Heat mixture until Milk is hot but not boiling.
• Chop white cheddar cheese into smaller squares (you can also grate cheese) and add to milk mixture.
• Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
• Add Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Cook until all cheese is melted, about 2 more minutes.
• Add macaroni noodles to saucepan and stir to combine pasta with cheese sauce.
• Pour into a casserole dish or a ceramic, oven-safe crock.
• Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of macaroni.
• Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Let sit for 3-5 minutes after cooking to cool.

WHITE CHEDDAR MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; return to pot., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until melted. Add to pasta; toss to coat.

MAC 'N CHEESE WITH BACON AND WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the elbow macaroni until al dente, 8 or 9 minutes, then drain and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 3-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Heat milk with 3 sprigs of thyme and 4 cloves of crushed garlic in a small pan, do not boil the milk.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.
• Remove the thyme sprigs and garlic cloves from the milk then whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture.
• Continue to cook until the mixture is smooth, whisking constantly. Once smooth, stir in 4-1/2 cups of the white cheddar cheese. Continue to cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add in the cooked macaroni and the chopped parsley. Stir to coat the macaroni and incorporate all ingredients then pour into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cook bacon until crispy. Then add the onion, the remaining two cloves of garlic (chopped) and the remaining thyme (leaves only this time). Cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• When the macaroni and cheese comes out of the oven, spread the bacon and onion mixture over the top, serve and enjoy.

BACON PASTA WITH CHEESE SAUCE AND THYME

Steps:

• Cook bacon, onion, and garlic in a large straight-sided skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon is browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in chopped thyme. Remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, about 2 minutes less than according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta water.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan.Whisk in flour; cook until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and 1/2 cup pasta water until smooth. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and whisk in cheeses.
• Return skillet to medium-high heat; add 1/2 cup pasta water and cook, scraping up browned bits, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cooked spaghetti and cheese sauce. Stir, adding remaining pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until sauce is creamy and evenly coats pasta. Taste and season as needed. Serve, sprinkled with pepper and thyme leaves.