Bacon Mac and Cheese

Yo, yo, yo, I'm back and I'm sorry.  Life sorta grabbed me by the throat and shook me around for the past few weeks.

When I was a child, my mom was a real health nut.  We were the only family on the block to eat whole wheat bread, non-sugar cereals, homemade soups and sauces and very little processed food.  So, I spent my childhood craving everything I couldn't have.  Gimme some good old Wonder bread, processed cheese slices and a can of Pepsi and I would have thought I'd found nirvana.

One processed food item my mom did purchase, on occasion, was macaroni and cheese.  But, she bought the more fancy one that had the cheese in a prepared pouch that was already cheese-like, instead of the kind with the powdered cheese that you added water to.  I loved it.  It was something she might serve along side a hamburger patty and salad.

When I had kids, I bought the same type of macaroni and cheese and they scoffed.  They preferred the one with the powdered cheese, and, well, my high-flatulent palate could not handle such nastiness, so I pretty much stopped eating mac and cheese, until...I started making it from scratch.

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, but I do change some things in it, to make it more to our family's liking.

Bacon Mac and Cheese

4 cups macaroni noodles
1/4-1/2 of a red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 4oz can chopped green chilies
1 cup frozen corn
1 heaping cup of grated pepper jack cheese (I have substituted sharp cheddar for this and it's still good)
1 spoonful of minced garlic
1 cup heavy cream
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
4-6 stripes of cooked bacon, crumbled


Boil pasta until al dente.

In a large skillet (use cast iron if you can!) saute the onions, pepper, garlic and corn in some olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes.  Add chilies and stir.  Take off heat.

Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet.  Pour in cream and cheese.  Give it a good stir to let it all melt and get gooey.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add crumbled bacon and mix.  

You can serve this as a side dish, or a main dish.  Sometimes, I make it a little early in the day, and I cover the cast iron skillet with aluminium foil and keep it warm in the oven until dinner.  It does well as a left over for the next few days if you refrigerate the remaining amount.