Toni's Last Minute Mac

A few nights ago we were craving a southern dinner. Like most nights, we didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen or have to make a run to the store. We had fried chicken on the menu already and what goes better with fried chicken than a good ol' mac and cheese. I realized that I had just enough of the right ingredients to whip up a last minute mac.


Ingredients
8 oz elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
hot pepper cheese
italian blend cheese
mexican blend cheese
4 strips of bacon, cooked
black pepper
cayenne pepper

I am assuming you know how to boil macaroni pasta so I am skipping that step with my recipe. You want to cook your pasta al dente (may even slightly firmer since it will cook further in the oven). Drain and set aside. In the same saucepot, warm heavy whipping cream and 2 tbsp of butter. You don't want to bring this to a boil. Add hot pepper cheese (or pepper jack) to the liquid and stir until it forms a thick cheese sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place your cooked macaroni noodles in a baking dish and fold in the cheese sauce. Mix in both the italian and mexican cheese blends. This is your mac so make it how you like it. I like mine really cheesy so I tend to be a bit heavy handed when adding in cheese. For a little bit more of a kick, I add in some black pepper and cayenne pepper (only about 1-2 tsp of cayenne pepper). I then crumble my cooked bacon strips and combine it with the cheese and macaroni.

In the pan you cooked your bacon in, heat up 1-2 tbsp of butter (you can even combine it with the bacon grease like I did but that part is definitely optional lol). Once the butter has melted, stir in the panko bread crumbs. You wanted to make sure that they are evenly coated with butter. Layer the bread crumbs on top of the mac and cheese.

Place the mac and cheese into an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, switch the setting to broil so that the bread crumbs can turn a nice, golden, crispy brown.

The great thing about mac and cheese is that you can use any combination of cheeses you like. I rarely do the same combination. Sometimes I even add herbs, onion, garlic, etc. I hope you enjoy your last minute mac!