Mac And Cheese With Applewood Smoked Bacon

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb noodles, elbow, penne, farfalle
• 16 ounces , cheese. (i used jack and sharp cheddar)
• 1/2-1 lb of applewood smoked bacon, cooked but not too crispy & broken into bite size pieces
• 1 onion, pureed
• cayenne pepper, salt & pepper to taste
• frozen peas
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 -4 cups milk
• 2 cups crushed potato chips and seasoned bread crumbs, to cover
• butter

Recipe

• 1 cook bacon and set aside on paper towels to drain.
• 2 cook noodles, al dente, drain and set aside.
• 3 for sauce: melt 3-4 tablesppons butter and whisk in equal amount of flour to form a paste.
• 4 add the half cup or so of pureed, or finely chopped, onion and stir for minute or so to cook the onion.
• 5 add the heavy cream and milk.
• 6 cook until smooth.
• 7 add the cheese, cubed or grated is fine, cook until melted and smooth.
• 8 season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.
• 9 combine the sauce with drained noodles and stir in frozen peas.
• 10 pour into baking dish and top with crushed mixture of chips and panko crumbs.
• 11 cook for about 20 minutes at 400 and then top with a few pats of butter and continue cooking til bubbly and brown.
• 12 enjoy!