Have you entered my KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY yet?
I'm super excited about today's recipe for some very special reasons. First and foremost, it involves BACON and CHEESE. Helllooooo LOVER!
I also love this recipe because it was inspired by a wonderful blogger buddy of mine. Wait... Buddy is FAR too generic a term for me to use when speaking of a special friend like Monica. She's helpful, thoughtful, beautiful, and lots of other "ul" words. I love her immensely. That's a MUCH better description of her.
Anyhoo, when she posted this recipe for ooey gooey grown up mac & cheese, I just knew I needed to make it as quickly as possible.
Then I remembered that I promised myself I'd eat less carbs this year. Why why why?! Oh yeah...'cuz I absolutely refuse to buy a bigger pair of stretchy pants. crap.
So I put on my thinking cap and began to wait for the thinking to happen...and it DID! I remembered that I'm part of the Dreamfields Pasta "Taste & Tell Team". HOORAY!
Dreamfields pasta products are excellent sources of fiber, have the same great taste and texture of regular pasta products, AND they only have 5 grams of digestible carbs per serving!
This is perfect for those of us who are are watching their weight, or for those who count carbs for health related reasons like diabetes. I grabbed one of the coupons they provided me with and off to the store I went. They make 7 different varieties of pasta, so I was indecisive about what kind I wanted to put into my mac & cheese. I passed over the spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, and lasagna noodles and narrowed the selection down to elbow, rotini, and penne pasta. I decided to go with elbow for this batch. Traditional AND healthier for the win!
Truth be told, this recipe isn't too far off from this one, but the added tang of ranch boosted up the flavor to a whole new, amazing taste level.
Please do your taste buds a favor and make yourself some of this comfort food. You can thank me later 
- 16 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1/2 lb sliced bacon (any variety)
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 2.5 cups shredded cheese (1 cup Grueyere, 1 cup Colby Jack, 1/2 cup sharp cheddar)
- 2 tablespoons powdered ranch dressing mix
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- Cooking spray
- Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, but don't rinse; Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Use kitchen shears or a chef's knife to cut bacon into bite sized pieces. Cook in a large 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until crisp, then drain on paper towel and set aside. Reserving drippings in pan.
- Add chicken to drippings in pan, sprinkle with pepper and salt and sauté for 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Melt butter into the same pan over medium heat and add flour. Stir to combine and cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk, then stir in ranch powder.
- Bring to a slow boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses. Once cheese has all melted, stir in pasta, chicken, and most of bacon. (Reserve some bacon to garnish the top of the dish)
- Spoon mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. (A lasagna pan works well.) Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
I linked this recipe up to LINKIN' UP THURSDAYS at Just My Crazy Kitchen!
Bachelor Kitchen
Wow. This DOES look good! Thanks for sharing this!!!
You're welcome.... and thank YOU for commenting!
Well aren't you a sweetie pie?! YEP! Thanks for making my mac-n-cheese, you have beautiful pics of it too!! Thanks for the lovely words too! You are AWESOME!!! FFFL!!
Monica Mooney recently posted...Skinny(er) Scalloped Potatoes
I can't wait to try this tonight!!
I hope you enjoy it, Sheila!
My entire family loved it, Becca! Thanks! Although I didn't have the recommended cheeses, they still loved it! Next time, I will make sure I have everything I need!
I've been thinking of this, ever since you and Bernadette were talking about it. Monica has awesome recipes and this one looks phenomenal!!
P.S. You ROCK, lady!!! xo
Cindy @Hun... What's for Dinner? recently posted...Loaded Baked Potato Soup
YOU rock, sweet Cindy Lou! FFFL!
Ooooooo I must make this....maybe next week.....Oh and your awesome....so is Mon
3 cheers for dilly bars!!
PS And bacon
Alyssa recently posted...Fresh Ground Flour
Mmm...I love bacon and cheese. Trying to avoid them for a while, though, cause I was thinking it wasn't a good sign that the stretchy pants were tight.
Anita at Hungry Couple recently posted...Crispy Curried Potatoes