Mac'n'cheese!!! And, it gets better!🥓🥓🥓

Almost everyone likes Mac'n'cheese, I haven't met anyone that doesn't. (let me know in the comments if you don't ;)

Anyway, Mac'n'cheese is definitly a kid favorite, that almost anyone will eat. Therefore making it a very common pantry item in most homes. I actually don't have any, but I decided to make homemade Mac'n'cheese, and step it up a notch. First of all, there's bacon!!! And chives. Giving you...

Bacon and chive mac'n'cheese!

It starts with cheese. For this recipe, I used the cheese I had in my fridge. Which was 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1 1/2 cups of medium cheddar, and Colby Jack. But use whatever cheese you have on hand. And these measurements are after I shredded it all. So you might want to get started! 

NOTE: you don't have to use the parmesan, I just think it adds more flavor to the dish. You will also need 1 additional cup of any kind of cheese for the top. I used pre-shredded Colby Jack, and orange & white cheddar, 

Preheat the oven to 350F.

To start, make the pasta. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, and add 16 oz of shell or elbow pasta. Cook for 6-8 minutes. You want the pasta to be a little undercooked because it will also be baked. 

Once it's done, cold-shock it. This just means drain the pasta and run cold water over it, until its cool. This stops the cooking process, so the pasta doesn't get overdone.

Now for the bacon!!! Super simple. Cook 10-15 pieces of bacon until crispy. Note that they will become more crispy when they cool. Once it's cool to the touch, crumble it.  And you're done with this step!

Chives. I have a large chive bush (see Garden tour June 2020) So, I used 1/2 cup of them. (Chopped)

If you don't have access to chives, you can use half the amount of green onions.

Or you can omit them altogether. There's still bacon! If you don't use them though, add 1 tsp onion powder to the sauce, when you add the other spices.

Next, comes the cheese sauce. So to a large pot(you need to put all the pasta in at the end) add 1 stick of butter. Once the butter is melted, add 1/2 cup of flour. Using a whisk, mix together until combined over low heat. This is called a roux (roo). Let it bubble for about 1-2 minutes. Then, add 3 cups of milk, and stir to combine. Turn up the heat to medium-high. You don't want the mixture to boil, just a simmer. Also add 2 tsp of ground mustard, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of pepper. Stir to combine 

Bring on the cheese! Once the sauce has been simmering for a couple minutes add all 3 1/4 or 3 cups of cheese and mix really well. Turn down the heat to low and let the cheese melt for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the cooked pasta and half of the bacon, and chives. Mix well (again). 

Pour the entire mixture into a baking dish, and sprinkle the remaining bacon and chives on top. And finally the extra cheese. Put it in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted. About 10 minutes.

 After that... Enjoy!!! My dad loved this recipe, and gave it a restaurant-quality review! (I think it's because of the bacon though)

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out!

Cheers!

-Jacey