Bacon Mac and Cheese!

I had this sudden urge to make home made mac and cheese. I have never made it before; yes crazy I know.. degree in Culinary and Pastry Arts and I have never made mac and cheese! Anyway.. it just sounded so good and here my family just loves that damn little addictive blue box of mac and cheese. I went on line looking for Cooking Light recipes because well I love Cooking Light and if I am gonna make it I may as well pick a semi healthy recipe to try! I came across a list of 12 mac and cheese recipes from Cooking Light and sponsored by Myrecipes.com; I picked out 3 I wanted to try and Mom picked from there.  It was decided on Bacon Mac! How can we go wrong with bacon and mac and cheese!
First let me tell you how so easy it was to make!!! I was expecting so much more work! It was wonderfully simple to make; even grating the cheese cause well yay for a food processor ;).  My only issue was the green onions.. they were a bit strong and almost.. almost overpowered the awesomeness of the recipe.  Either way it was an amazing recipe and I fully expect to make it again most likely once I am moved and can make it for my future husband ;).

Bacon Mac:

• 3 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 12 ounces strozzapreti or penne pasta (I used corkscrew as I was feeling screwy!)
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
• 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided (I used an 8 oz block of sharp and long horn cheese)

• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I left this out.. mom was being picky)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used 3 because well bacon is awesome)
• Cooking spray 

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155°. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper, and bacon; stir. Add pasta; toss. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese. Broil 7 minutes.

I would definitely follow the directions as is.  I stirred the pasta and cheese sauce together and let it sit a bit while I finished my chops and the 7 minutes under the broiler didn't heat up what had cooled down. So I would next time put directly under the broiler or just mix and put in a heated over for a good 30 min. or so.  I also took the cheese that went on top and mixed it with some bread crumbs so that I could have a little extra crunch.. mmm So damn yummy!!! 

Pan Cakes........

So every now and then I get this craving for pancakes... but I am one lonely person and well I do not want to make a huge batch for just me. Yes I know there is the ability to freeze and heat up later and so on and so forth but.. nope I just don't wanna do that. So I went on a search and came across this little blog Chocolatecoveredkatie.com and there were tons of pancakes just staring at me! I clicked the blueberry picture and looked at the recipe... YAY serves 1!!! Well.. I didn't have any blueberries but I did have strawberries so thought what the heck lets test this out!

I have since made three variations using this wonderfully simple recipe; a recipe that will be my mainstay as a single serving forever! Super glad I came across her blog!  I have made my strawberry pancakes, I have thrown in mini chocolate chips and today I poured the batter over some lefter over bacon! I definitely will not cook the bacon to crisp when planning to reuse it in bacon pancakes ;) but it was damn tasty!

Enjoy this super easy recipe for a single serving of pancakes, again I thank you Chocolatecoveredkatie!

The recipe as was in the blog/site:

Blueberry Pancakes
(Serves 1)

• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup flour (ww pastry, white, spelt, or even Bob’s gluten-free)
• 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp sugar or 1 packet stevia (omit if you don’t want sweet pancakes)
• 1/3 cup milk of choice
• Unless you like the taste of fat-free pancakes, add 1 tbsp oil and reduce milk by that amount.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet. Mix, but don’t overmix. Cook on an oiled (or sprayed) pan, on low-medium, flipping each pancake once.

I left my pancakes fat free and Mine did not come out nearly as tall as hers, but They are extremely tasty and I am grateful for having the recipe!  I used a few sliced strawberries in my first batch, a handful of mini chocolate chips in the next batch, and 3 slices of bacon in the 3rd.  I have made them as just basic pancakes as well.. love that I have a basic single serving recipe!!!!