Why I chose this recipe:
My kids are obsessed with pasta. My son cannot go a day without one meal being all about his favorite carb. I will admit, when they were little, they lived on that processed orange stuff from the grocery store and to be perfectly honest, that is all I had time for. Yet now, as I have a little more time for myself and they don’t need constant oversight, I can play around more with recipes. This recipe is creamy and delicious and the bacon and peas take it to another level of decadence. So if you like mac & cheese, treat yourself, family and friends to this version and .
Ingredients
4 Tbsp butter
¼ cup flour
1 quart 1% milk
3 cups (12 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp cayenne
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 lb. dry pasta
8 pieces of bacon, uncooked
1 cup frozen peas
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wrap cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place 8 pieces of uncooked bacon on cookie sheet. When oven is heated, cook bacon for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside until pasta and cheese mixture is combined.
Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees.
Defrost frozen peas in microwave for 1 minute on High. Set aside.
Grease with Pam a 13×9-inch ovenproof baking dish.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions on the box.
Melt the 4 Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add the flour and whisk until combined. Stir for approx. 2 minutes to cook the flour mixture.
Add the milk to the flour mixture and whisk until the flour mixture is incorporated into the milk. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly as to not burn the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Once mixture has been brought to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Once thickened, add the mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Whisk to combine mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper into sauce. Then add 2 cups of the cheddar cheese, 11/2 cups of the Monterey jack cheese and all of the parmesan cheese. Stir cheese into the sauce with a large spoon or whisk. Turn off burner.
Drain pasta and add directly to the cheese mixture. Stir to thoroughly combine pasta into sauce.
Crumble bacon into mac & cheese and add the peas. Stir to fully combine. Once combined, pour mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Enjoy!