If you’re anything like a normal person, you’ve got work, house cleaning, pets, spouses, Redheaded Babies, and Facebook to tend to all day long. And then there’s dinner. That ratty occasion that sneaks up on you every day when you have no time left.
Here, I offer you a doctored recipe from Pillsbury that is DELICIOUS. The hardest part is cooking your noodles. I happened upon a recipe that I needed to tweak in order to make it fit my pantry that day. Hubs was really surprised how well it turned out for a “pantry surprise” day, which we tend to have a lot of around here. Nevertheless, I present to you, Bacon Mac.
It takes about 20-25 minutes to prep, and 2 hours in the crockpot. Which makes cleaning up the house while it cooks, or walking the dog an absolute breeze. Plus, when you come back in the house and smell bacon?? Mmmmmm. This recipe can serve 2 people for several days, or easily a family of 6 (1 1/3 cups each).
Ingredients:
12oz. of uncooked elbow macaroni noodles
1/4c. butter
12oz. can of evaporated milk
1.5c. of Half & Half (I used our fat free version and it was still delish)
3c. of shredded cheddar (yay Costco)
8oz. Velveeta Cheese pinched into little pieces
2tsp. of Spicy Mustard
6-8 strips of bacon
1. First, start the water for the noodles. Turn your crock pot on low, and spray lightly with PAM. (Do this, even if you’re using a crockpot liner. HIGHLY recommend those, by the way).
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| BACON! |
2. While those heat up, start the bacon pan and measure your other ingredients. Cook the bacon nearly to death so it becomes nice and crispy.
3. Toss your macaroni noodles into the water pot, using the minimum cook time. Drain well when finished.
4. After the bacon is done, lay it on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the extra grease. When it dries, chop it into bits.
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| Mmmmm – More Bacon. |
5. Now, add your noodles, and immediately add the butter. Stir until melted (should only take a few swipes). Over that, add the evaporated milk, half & half, cheddar cheese, Velveeta, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir well to incorporate.
6. Cover crock pot, cook on the low setting for 2 hours. It is important to stir the mac once or twice about half way through to make sure it’s well blended.
7. During the last 10 minutes to cook time, add the bacon bits on top. I don’t think it really matters when you add the bacon – it could be right before you serve it – just get it on there! I think the next time we make this, I might try diced ham, broccoli, or something else. And unless we take it somewhere, I’ll half the recipe – it makes soooo much for a party of 2.5!
This recipe made Hub’s eyes go wide, and my stomach rumble the entire time it was cooking. And it was GOOD. If we needed mac and cheese for an occasion, or if we had company, I’ll skip the bacon and make this in a flash. Travels well in our crock pot, too! It heats up divinely in the microwave the next day, especially with the little bacon flavor bombs hidden inside. Mmmmmmmmmm.
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| Yay! |
Even Red got to have some. (Even if it was only a noodle or two) And he liked it!
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