OMG Bacon Mac and Cheese

Get ready to change your “Mac and Cheese” world with this awesome recipe! I have made this much easier and creamer so you can “Chop Happy” while making this recipe.  I took away the time consuming, easy to mess up whisking/making of bechamel  from the recipe to make it simpler, quicker, less clean up and more flavorful than the rest. This recipe is as easy as pour and stir. There is a crazy mix of sweet, sharp and creamy – all combined to make what I think is a top tasty winner!

I also added some surprise flavor secrets! Watch the video and you will see the secret revealed that make this have depth of cheesy flavor. This recipe reminds me of being a kid and sitting at the table playing musical chairs to eat a yummy warming comfy meal with my family. Something about eating mac and cheese immediately transforms you to being a kid and warming thoughts of an easy simpler time when dinner was your main event.

Need a weeknight pick me up? – holiday recipe? – 0r need a recipe to last the week that will keep you biting for more? You’ve come to your new go-to recipe :-). Oh did I mention there’s my fave vegetable, bacon in this lol!

OMG Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound of bacon cut into small pieces
• 3 (8 oz each) blocks of sharp cheddar cheese cut into medium sized cubes
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 6 ounces of greek yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves minced or grated
• 5 chopped scallions
• 4 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces so they melt better (plus a little extra butter to grease the baking dish)
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 can (14.75 oz) creamed corn
• 1 pound of cavatelli or spiral pasta noodles  – cooked 1 minute less then package instructions and set aside
• 6 grates of nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon already grated
• 1 cup of crushed cheesy baked crackers like Cheez-It or Goldfish
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil to drizzle on top before goes into oven – a few drizzles

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees – and – heat a large pot set on medium
• Add the salty yummy bacon pieces and cook till done but not crisp
• Turn the heat down to medium-low and remove the bacon pieces for later but leave the flavor enhancing grease in the pan
• Add the chunks of sharp cheddar cheese and start stirring the cheese until it mixes and melts to a beautiful orange creamy consistency.
• Mix in spicy red pepper flakes and a three-finger pinch of black pepper for that extra spicy pow flavor.

Now it’s time to add the flavor-tastic stuff! 

• Add in the tangy greek yogurt, the garlic,  scallions, the creamy butter, heavenly cream, undisputed king of cheese (I love that Mario Batali says that) parmesan, and finally (the secret start of the show) a can of sweet creamed corn
• Now on top of all that flavor – add a three-finger pinch of salt – along with the cooked bacon pieces and pasta noodles
• I grate the warming secret flavor weapon nutmeg over the cheese/pasta while slowly counting to six
• Mix all these amazing so they become one complex flavor and then pour it into a buttered baking dish
• Sprinkle crushed up cheesy baked crackers on top of the cheddary mixture, followed by a few drizzles of the olive oil
• Bake for 40 minutes – your kitchen is going to smell like a cheesy comfort food wonderland 🙂
• I am so excited for you to try my Mac and Cheese masterpiece and cheers to you!

What do you add to your mac and cheese that is rocking?  Let me know in the comments section below!

With a grateful heart and a bacon cheesy tummy – Jay