Best Bacon Kale And Tomato Mac And Cheese Recipes

BAKED MAC AND CHEESE WITH BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil over high in a large stock-pot. Stir in pasta and 1 tablespoon of the salt, and return to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender but still firm, about 6 minutes. Reserve and set aside 2 cups cooking water, and then drain the pasta. Return pasta to pot, and remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
• Generously butter a 13- x 9-inch baking dish, and set aside. Toss together breadcrumbs; Parmesan cheese; and half of the cooked, crumbled bacon in a bowl, and set aside. Stir together flour, pepper, mustard, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a small bowl. Heat milk and buttermilk in a medium saucepan over medium, undisturbed, until barely steaming but not boiling, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high. Add flour mixture. Cook, whisking often, until mixture is smooth and thick and has a delicate golden color and toasted aroma, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in warm milk mixture. Bring to a boil over high. Cook, stirring often, until thickened to the texture of cream, about 3 minutes.
• Stir shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses into milk mixture, and remove from heat. Stir in beaten eggs until mixture forms a smooth sauce.
• Uncover cooked pasta, and stir. (If pasta sticks together, stir in reserved warm cooking water, and drain again.) Stir cheese mixture and remaining bacon into drained pasta in stockpot.
• Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven until firm, puffed up, and lightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

BACON, KALE AND TOMATO MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Arrange bacon between sheets of microwavable paper towels on microwavable dinner plate. Microwave on High 3 to 4 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Cool; crumble.
• In 3-quart saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over low heat. Stir in flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Stir in cheese, 1/2 cup at a time, until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in uncooked macaroni. Gently stir in kale, tomatoes and bacon; pour into casserole.
• Bake uncovered 15 minutes; stir. (If any macaroni is sticking up above surface, press down with back of spoon.) Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave 1 tablespoon butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs.
• Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture. Bake 12 to 17 minutes longer or until macaroni is tender when pierced with fork and topping is light golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

TOMATO MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the cheese, salt, mustard and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Drain pasta; stir into cheese sauce. Cook and stir for 3 minutes or until heated through. Stir in tomatoes just until combined.

MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH KALE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs for al dente. Reserve 1 3/4 cups of the cooking water and then drain. Set aside.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the kale and garlic and cook, stirring, until the kale begins to wilt. Add 1/2 cup of water, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale wilts and is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Carefully wipe out the saucepan. Bring the half-and-half, cayenne and nutmeg to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Gradually whisk in the Cheddar and Havarti cheeses, a handful at a time, until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
• Add the cooked pasta and reserved cooking water to the sauce and stir to combine. Stir in the kale and season with additional salt and pepper. Pour into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Toss the bread crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and a large pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl and sprinkle evenly over the macaroni and cheese. Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BACON AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Generously butter a 1/12 quart baking dish.
• Add 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs; shake to coat dish evenly.
• Heat large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook pasta until al dente, about 7 minutes.
• Drain.
• Place in large bowl.
• Melt butter in large saucepan.
• Whisk inflour; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
• Add nutmeg; cook 1 minute.
• Whisk in milk all at once.
• Heat to boil; simmer, stirring, 5 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until melted.
• Add sauce to pasta, mix well.
• Spoon 1/2 mixture into prepared baking dish.
• Add tomatoes and bacon in an even layer.
• Top with remaining macaroni mixture.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the remaining bread crumbs with olive oil in small bowl.
• Sprinkle over macaroni.
• Bake until golden and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

BACON & TOMATO MAC

Steps:

• Prepare Dinner as directed on package.
• Stir in bacon and tomatoes.

BACON, LEEK, AND TOMATO MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in an 8-quart stockpot.
• Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain bacon on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Add macaroni, Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to the boiling water. Cover and let simmer vigorously for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While the macaroni mixture cooks, trim dark green parts off leek and discard. Slice leek in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place in a bowl of cold water and swish to remove dirt. Drain leek and stir into the macaroni mixture.
• Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender and sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Remove cores and scrape out seeds. Dice tomatoes; reserve 1/4 cup for garnish. Remove stockpot from heat; stir in remaining tomatoes and 1/2 of the bacon. Spoon macaroni into a serving bowl and garnish with remaining bacon and reserved tomatoes. Serve immediately.