Thursday, September 17, 2009

Baked Mac and Cheese

Do you love Mac and cheese? For me macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. With the weather getting much cooler I just want to eat something warm and comforting like this cheesy, creamy goodness baked pasta.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of flour
1/2 cup roughly chopped bacon
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup diced fresh tomato
½ box of pasta ( penne, elbow or ziti) – cook to al-dente
2 cups of milk ( I used 1% fat)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp of pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste


1. In a pan over the medium heat, render the bacon fat until brown and crispy. Remove and drain the bacon on paper towel. Remove all the bacon fat. In the same pan, add in the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onion, cook until it’s lightly brown.
2. Add in the flour. Stir and cook until the flour turn lightly brown. Add in the milk, stir well and bring it up to boil. Once the sauce thickens, add in the cheese.
3. Once the cheese melted, turn off the heat. Add in pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pasta, chopped tomato and the bacon. Reserved some of the bacon for garnish.
4. Transfer the pasta into a baking dish and bake it in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven for 35-45 minutes or until the top of the pasta lightly brown. Garnish with bacon bits and serve warm.

19 comments:

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

This is my daughter's favorite, will need to prepare some for her soon, Thanks for sharing.

Noob Cook said...

nice! I like it too that you baked them in individual ramekins :)

Elin Chia said...

I have been wanting to make this baked mac for some time but somehow tak jadi :)... now looking at yours...mmmmm so delicious, so looks like I gonna make some soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe :))

Ummi said...

Hello Gert, what a tempting mac n cheese!!! Now, my appetite is more to cookies..hehe..maybe after hari raya I've to bake this, coz dah byk stg makan daging raya nnt..hehe, have a nice day!

Charmaine said...

Thanks Gert. Always good timing. I have been searching for a mac n cheese recipe for my two girls. I'm going to try this!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Looks wholesome! My girls love it too.

Cookie said...

Bacon and cheese! YUM!

vanillasugarblog said...

I really wish the weather wasn't getting cooler. We had such a short summer.
I love mac and cheese too, but I have to be careful making it because I tend to make a cheese & cheese. LOL

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

I just made mac and cheese recently, and you are right, it is comfort food. But next time I will add some chopped tomamtoes like you. I think the tangy-ness will take away some of the jelak feeling :) BTW, I loved what you did to with the Taro Meatballs. Brilliant.

Beachlover's Kitchen said...

mac and cheese is both Eliot and Mishu favourite! they both can eat this mac cheesy for lunch and dinner and daily..maybe I should use some low fat cheese instead of the ready pack one....btw like your ramekins vibrate color

Food For Tots said...

It looks so delicious and even more attractive and standout with the red ramekins. Great food presentation!

mycookinghut said...

Mac & Cheese ... how can I love this. Well done, Gert!

mycookinghut said...

I was supposed to say ' how can I not love this'... sorry!

ICook4Fun said...

Sonia, you are most welcome.

Noobcook, thanks you.

Elin, you are welcome.

Ummi, Selamat Hari Raya to you and your family. Maybe we can trade. My mac and cheese for your hari raya cookies ha ha..

Charmaine, hope your girl like tbis mac and cheese.

LCOM, thank you.

Cookie, thanks for stopping by.

Dawn, look you are love lots of cheese in it :)

Little Teochew, yeap. Adding the tomatoes cut back a bit of the richness in the mac and cheese.

Lesley, yes, you can make this low fat. Just use wholewheat pasta, low fat milk and low fat cheese.

Food for tots, thank you.

Leemei, thank you :)

Dori said...

That makes simple mac & cheese look irresistible!

Christelle said...

Actually that's the one dish I could pass... I suppose it's an america/british thing I never really got tyhe hang of.. ah well it's got to be cultural! :)

ICook4Fun said...

Meeso, thank you.

Christelle, this is a typical dish of America :)

Unknown said...

I am baking it now and can hardly wait! I used turkey bacon instead of the real deal to keep it abit healthier for me!

Anonymous said...

Try adding bechamel sauce with lots of cheese in it! I don't know if that takes away the entire Mac and Cheese-idea though, I'm not from America and MnC is really not a thing here.