Smoked Bacon and Roasted Mushroom Mac & Cheese
Happy first weekend of Fall!!! Looking for a delicious comforting dish to make for supper tonight? How about homemade Mac & Cheese. A big Thank You to Courtney Gouthro for sharing her recipe with me. I made a few adjustments and attempted to recreate the Mac & Cheese dish from one of my favourite restaurants in Halifax.
From my kitchen to yours...
Smoked Bacon and Roasted Mushroom Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:
6 strips of your favourite smoked Bacon, cooked and diced
2 cups of baby bella, button or cremini mushrooms, sliced (a mix all your favourite mushrooms are also delicious)
1/2 tsp of salt and pepper
2 cups pasta, cooked (we like fusilli)
2/3 cup butter
3 tsp flour
1/8 tsp (pinch) chili powder
1 tsp italian seasoning
4 tbsp onion, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups milk
2 cups old cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup gouda cheese, shredded
1/2 cup provolone cheese, shredded
1 cup bread crumbs (Breton cracker crumbs used in the picture above)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp parsley
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 370 degrees.
2. Spread sliced mushrooms out on a lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Roast mushrooms uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside with cooked and diced bacon.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Add flour, chili powder, italian seasoning, onion and garlic.
Saute until onion becomes translucent and mixtures becomes slightly thickened and bubbling. Stirring constantly to
avoid burning.
5. Slowly add milk continuing to stir constantly to avoid burning. When mixture become thickened and bubbling remove
from heat and stir in cheddar, gouda and provolone cheeses.
6. Stir cooked pasta, roasted mushrooms and bacon into cheese sauce, stirring to allow all of the noodles to be coated in
the delicious cheesy goodness. Pour Mac & Cheese into a glass baking dish.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and parsley. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the top
of the Mac & Cheese.
8. Bake uncovered in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
9. Let Mac & Cheese sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
