Before I start this post, I would like to apologize for my last post. I had something dumped on my shoulders and I really did not deal with it well. I should NOT of passed it onto you. It will not happen again. Promise!

Did anyone else grow up living on KD? Maybe it’s just me because I loveloveloved it! In fact, when my swallowing got more difficult, I would buy those single serve KD cups, load it up with butter and milk and basically swallow the noodles whole. Just to get as much KD into me before I couldn’t swallow at all! Do they make KD flavoured ice cream? Ewwww! lol

When I was still cooking – and eating – I taught myself how to make home-made Mac and cheese which is so much better than KD. Sorry my beloved KD! At first I used cream and various cheeses. Yummy but FULL of fat. Not good for our butts and belly. I then started using whole milk, chicken or vegetable stock and the cheeses. So much better for our waistlines! Woo-hoo!

Now, this recipe is an estimation of the amount for each ingredient. I never measured while cooking. I just eyed it and taste tested along the way. Also, typically Italians would use pancetta not bacon. I use bacon because I like the smokey taste that bacon adds. You decide and let me know!

Ingredients

• 1 box of uncooked elbow pasta
• 1 – 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• 1/2 of an onion, minced
• 1/2 package of bacon
• 3 – 4 Tbsp. of butter
• 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock (if you’re feeling fancy you can use a nice dry white wine)
• 1 1/2 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup of white cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of Gruyère cheese (you can use your own favourite cheeses like mozzarella, swiss, marble, gouda…)
• 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Parmesan cheese, for topping

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, salt water heavily and add pasta. Never salt the water before it’s boiling or you will end up with tiny little dents at the bottom of your pot. Cook pasta until al dente. Rinse and set aside.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
3. While pasta is cooking, fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove from pan and chop roughfuly. Set aside and remove most of the grease from the pan.
4. Over medium heat, add butter, onion and garlic to skillet. Cook until onion turns fragrant and translucent. ~3 to 5 minutes. Add flour and cook further for roughly the same time.
5. Add whole milk and broth to skillet, whisking constantly. Cook for ~5 to allow sauce to thicken slightly.
6. Add cheeses and remove skillet from heat. Season with nutmeg (if using), salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta and bacon and toss to coat.
7. Spray a large oven safe casserole with oil and transfer everything from the skillet to prepared casserole. Top with parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for ~20 minutes or until it’s bubbling and the top turns brown.

I hope that you enjoy playing with my recipe! I sometimes added cherry tomatoes, cut in half right before baking. Yummy! I once used leeks instead of onions. It was delicious but I hated trying to clean the dirt out of all the layers of the leeks! I look forward to hearing about your adventures with my recipe!

Happy cooking!