Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. It’s the secret ingredient in my award winning best chili recipe (there’s a reason it’s won over 50 first-place prizes), the base of my ultimate potato soup, and it’s also Zach’s favorite food group. Stir in the hot sauce and the remaining 1 cup milk. There’s not much that can’t be improved by the addition of bacon. Stir in the dry mustard, and then gradually add the Cheddar and Muenster cheeses, stirring constantly until all of the cheese has melted into the sauce. The kid still liked it and it gave it a little extra flavor. I have since put a little sriracha in it to kick it up a little. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Tried the recipe the way it was written and it is a very good mac and cheese that is easy to whip up last minute. Continuing to whisk, add 3 cups of the hot milk and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. If needed, add some olive oil or butter to make sure you have a 1/4 cup of fat in the pan.Īdd the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the paste bubbles a bit, about 2 minutes (make sure it doesn't brown). At this point you should have about 1/4 cup of reserved fat. Set the bacon aside, reserving the fat to build your sauce. Set an extra-large skillet, or a large heavy saucepan, over medium-low heat and cook the bacon until crispy and the fat renders out, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar, colby jack, mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. I sautéed some diced jalapeno just briefly in the bacon fat and then added it to the crockpot along with uncooked fusilli, cheddar and monterey jack cheese, 2 eggs, whole milk, evaporated milk, a little butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente drain. Alternately you could just reserve the bacon and sprinkle it on top of the cooked macaroni.