Smoky Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

In all honesty, this is not a cheap food. It does fall under the 'cooking with nothing' category, because, most everyone will have milk, cheese, and pasta in their house. But David got paid (finally!) this week, and we needed our splurge... our comfort food. And nothing says comfort food like old fashioned mac and cheese from scratch. And nothing pleases my David more than Bacon.

 

In the effort of full disclosure, I should mention that this recipe is adapted from the one in the old Southern Living cookbook. I hope everyone has a cookbook like this. Mine is...well, not mine. It's my mother's and represents a lot of my childhood. I know there are pages that are stuck together from me spilling heaven knows what on them, and nothing says 'home' like the page that has the recipe for Macaroni and cheese. Don't get me wrong, I love the blue box too (as evidence, for Christmas one year, I got a 12 pack). But for the real deal, look no further.

3 Tbs. Butter
3 Tbs. Flour
2 cups warm milk
2 cups smoked cheese (or mix... I had none, so used Medium Ched.)
16 oz. macaroni, cooked
3 tsp. Liquid smoke
smoked paprika
fresh ground pepper
salt
Parmesan cheese
5 (or so) pieces of cooked, crumbled bacon

In a big sauce pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour using a big whisk to make a roux. Cook the roux on medium heat for a few minutes. At this point, I like to add in the liquid smoke. To warm up the milk, throw it in the microwave for about 90 seconds. (By the way, I use soy and think it's delicious.) Add the milk, a little at first, until the roux dissolves. Stir constantly until thickened. Slowly add the cheese, until the sauce forms. At this point, stir in your spices. Meanwhile, cook your pasta (with lots of salt in the water- it adds great flavour.) and when it's al dente, stir it in to the sauce. Then stir in your crumbled bacon. Pour the whole kit and caboodle into a greased 9x13, and top with the parm. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, and then, we like to turn on the broiler for a few minutes to make the top crunchy.

Sometimes comfort food does just the thing to lift your spirits. It helps that this is quick and delicious too. Also, it was gone in 20 minutes. Enjoy!