Bacon Pesto Mac and Cheese

I made my first Mac and Cheese last month and I’ve now made 4! Yeah, I’m into it. I didn’t realize how easy Mac and Cheese is to make. From afar, it seemed intimidating and maybe not my first choice for a meal. I never order Mac and Cheese at a restaurant, why would I make it at home?

Boy was I wrong. Homemade Mac and Cheese is next level delicious and hearty. You can make it exactly how you want it to taste. And it’s very flexible. Aka, it’s hard to mess up.

It’s also a great meal when it seems like there is nothing in the fridge to make. That’s really where this recipe started, just looking around the kitchen trying to avoid ordering out. I had some pasta and a lot of a little bit of different cheeses. Making something out of seemingly nothing is delicious and also quite rewarding.

Ingredients

• 16 oz Tri Colored Rotini
• 5 strips Bacon chopped in bits
• 5oz Pesto
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1/5 cup Water (or Milk)
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 1 tbsp Flour

All the Cheese

• 5 oz Pecorino Romano
• 4 oz Aged Cheddar
• 3 oz Parmesan
• 3 oz Mozzarella
• 4 oz Goat Cheese
• 4 oz Cream Cheese

Dice BACON into bits and fry. Remove bits and add BUTTER, a tablespoon of FLOUR, and WATER (or milk*) to the BACON grease to make a roux. Start slowly adding all the CHEESE and stir until smooth. Add more WATER if necessary to make the sauce smooth.

Separately, cook the PASTA. Add the PASTA to the CHEESE sauce, mix in BACON bits and mix.

You can eat now or plus it up a little. I added PESTO sliced MOZZARELLA, PARMESAN and THYME on top and Broiled for 8 minutes.

EAT!

*my milk was sour so I substituted water. It works just fine.

Bacon Pesto Mac and Cheese