Bacon Mac and Cheese

Here's the next in my series of mac and cheese recipe. I was looking for inspiration and noticed some recipes with bacon in them. I also decided to change up the cheese a little and did a combination of swiss and cheddar. It was definitely a good idea. When I went to make dinner I realized of all things I forgot to buy macaroni! I did have some pasta wheels in the pantry so I thought I'd try those. It was actually a good mistake because I loved how the cheese filled up the little holes in the pasta. Yum-o! We had this with breaded pork chops and some roasted green beans. It was a comfort food feast.



Recipe (4-6 plus leftovers)

1 lb macaroni or pasta wheels
4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
2 T butter
3 T flour
3 c milk
1/2 t dry mustard
salt and pepper
1/2 lb swiss cheese
1/2 lb cheddar, shredded and divided
3/4 c panko bread crumbs

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 375.

In large skillet or saucepan add bacon and turn heat to med to med-high. Cook bacon until crisp and remove to paper towels. Remove most of the bacon grease and add butter and flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then whisk in milk and dry mustard. Cook, stirring often, until thickened and sauce just begins to bubble. Remove from heat and melt in swiss and 1 c cheddar. Combine with pasta. In a greased casserole dish pour in about half of the macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle about half of the remaining cheddar on top and then top with remaining macaroni, remaining cheddar and panko bread crumbs. Bake for 30-40 minutes until top is golden and sauce is bubbly.