Bacon Pepper Mac and Cheese

Funny thing. Sometimes there can be such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen. Doug, Tyler and I were each working on different parts of the recipe at the same time and maybe weren't communicating the best that day. Long story short, the mac and cheese made it into the oven with the cheddar cheese missing. Hence the weird, melty, yellow-orange goo on top of our breadcrumbs. 

Other than that, Doug and I really liked this recipe. Doug, of course, couldn't eat it all the time with all the dairy, but one night didn't kill him. Tyler was another story. He didn't particularly like it. He said it tasted like it was from a restaurant. Doug and I looked at each other and said, ummm yes, and that's bad because....? Apparently his taste buds haven't developed as much as we thought over the last 6 1/2 years of blogging and he prefers the boxed stuff to fancy gourmet mac and cheese. Oh well!

• 3 cups uncooked penne pasta (10 oz)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 10 slices, packaged, pre-cooked bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 oz)
• 1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. 

Meanwhile, in a 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Reserve 1 Tbsp of the butter in a small bowl. Stir bell pepper and onions into butter in saucepan. Increase heat to medium; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and mustard. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Increase heat to medium-high. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Gently stir in bacon and pasta. 

Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until melted. Pour into casserole. Stir breadcrumbs into melted butter in small bowl. Sprinkle over pasta mixture. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, or until edges are bubbly. 

Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Recipe from Betty Crocker