Don’t limit yourself to using Cheddar and Parmesan try blue cheese, Gruyère, Emmenthal or even goat’s cheese. Cooking the flour in the butter is crucial as this removes the floury taste. Top with the bacon and finish with a layer of freshly grated Parmesan.īake for 30 minutes and allow to cool slightly before serving.Ĭook’s note: A good roux is the basis of any classic mac ‘n cheese. Creamy and comforting, this low-calorie Broccoli Bacon Macaroni and Cheese is homemade guilt-free comfort food at its best. Place the cooked pasta in a large greased ovenproof dish and pour over the cheese sauce. Add the chopped bacon and fry until crisp. Heat the canola oil in a separate pan over a medium heat. Stir in the cream, season to taste, then add the nutmeg. In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs. Once all the milk has been incorporated, start adding the Cheddar and Parmesan, a little at a time, to ensure that it melts evenly. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. As the roux begins thickening, add the next cup of milk. Whisk for 3 minutes to create a roux, ensuring that it’s smooth.Īdd 1 cup of milk at a time to the roux to ensure that its temperature does not drop too quickly and form lumps. You are more than welcome to add cooked bacon bits, peas or any other add ins, but I like to keep it simple.Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then stir in the flour using a whisk. Mix the sauce through the cooked macaroni and dinner is served! Then it's just a matter of cooking for 5-8 minutes until the sauce is nice and thick, removing it from the heat and stirring in the cheese, nutmeg and salt & pepper. You can also skip the step of heating up the milk first, but this really cuts down on the cooking time and is easy to do. As long as you keep whisking it so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn, either will work. Some people like to melt the butter first then whisk in the flour, I prefer to add them at the same time and let them melt together, but it's up to you. Cover and cook on High setting for 1 and 1/2 hours, stirring twice during cooking. Place pasta, shredded cheeses, bacon, eggs, evaporated milk, milk, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in slow cooker stir to combine. As long as you have the quantities right it is hard to go wrong. instructions: Spray the bowl of a 4-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Cheese sauce gets a bit of a rap as being something complicated, but it really isn't. Make your mac and cheese a little special with our macaroni cheese with bacon and tomatoes recipe, the new ingredients add to this wholesome and hearty. That's what I'm talking about!īoiling the macaroni only takes 20 minutes, and while that's happening you can focus on the cheese sauce. Not to mention it's on the table in 30 minutes and only uses 2 pots. I still eat macaroni cheese but I like to call this the extended version - fully homemade, sans neon orange colouring!Īs much as I love a classic baked mac & cheese, complete with breadcrumbs on top and bacon stirred through, there is something so comforting about this plain and simple cheesy version. I still may not be an amazing cook but I sure like to think I've come a long way since my Easy Mac days. Bake for 20 25 minutes or until mac and cheese is golden and bubbly. Top with the remaining smoked gouda cheese all over dish. Transfer mixture into a small lightly greased baking dish. They were so bad but so good! Nothing like a bowl of orange Easy Mac at 3am after a big night out! I guess it's not so hard to see why I gained that 'first year 5'. Drain the pasta and mix into the cheese sauce until well coated.

The nasty, single serve packets that involved teeny macaroni and a flavour sachet being stirred into boiling water and microwaved for 2 minutes. Cheesy comfort food at it's finest!ĭo you remember the food you survived on in your University/College/flatting days? I missed the 2 minute noodle bandwagon but our go to my first year living in the halls at Uni was Easy Mac. This easy recipe for stovetop mac and cheese is ready in 30 minutes.

Easy macaroni and cheese with bacon