Spinach, Bacon Macaroni & Cheese

The other night we were watching Iron Chef America and the secret ingredient was spinach. Bobby Flay made a macaroni and cheese dish with spinach and bacon. My husband commented, “Why don’t we have more food with cheese and bacon in it? We should have more cheese and bacon dishes.”

So, I took that challenge and decided to make my own version of the dish. It’s not the most lovely dish in the world, but it certainly tasted great. I decided to go all out and buy:

- Bacon from the butcher. I’ve never, ever, ever bought or cooked real bacon before this. Seriously, I’ve only ever made turkey bacon at home.

- A blend of sharp white cheddar and mild yellow cheddar. Not even reduced-fat kind. Just fully-fattening delicious cheese.

The Ingredients:
3-4 slices bacon
2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups milk
4 ounces sharp white cheddar
4 ounces mild yellow cheddar
2 cups spinach, chopped

The Instructions:
1. Cook the bacon. I chose to bake it on a foil-lined pan in a 400° F oven for about 15 minutes to get it nice and crispy. It made clean-up easy because I cold set the bacon on a paper towel and set the pan with grease aside. Once it was cooled, I folded the grease up with the foil and put it in the trash. Lower the oven temperature to 350° F.

2. Cook the pasta. Crumble the bacon when cooled some.

3. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook onion in butter 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

4. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 of the cheese to the pan. Stir until cheese is melted. Combine cheese sauce with cooked macaroni. Add the bacon and spinach, stir to combine. Pour into casserole dish; top with remaining cheese. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is lightly browned.

5. Let casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Hey, this dish got the hubby to eat some veggies too!