Homemade Mac N Cheese with Bacon!

I've just realized a lot of my posts have included bacon lately, but that's alright because bacon is delicious and any dish that includes bacon, my boyfriend will definitely eat.


But today, bacon is incorporated into a delicious and simple homemade mac and cheese recipe that never fails.

I began making this when I lived in Ireland. My friends from Wisconsin were really missing home and because the stereotypes are true (I've never seen a group of people eat so much cheese), they wanted a cheesy, creamy comfort food.

This is what I came up with.
These are all made with ingredients that I always have in the fridge, so it can be a last minute decision and be made for many or few eaters.

Ingredients:
Small individual size plain yogurt
1 cup milk
Italian bread crumbs
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
11/2 cups mozzarella
1/2 cup parmesan
4 strips crispy bacon
Olive oil
Penne pasta
Butter

1. Fry your bacon until crispy. I like to make the cheese sauce with the bacon grease but no need to use it if you do not want the added calories. Drain the bacon on paper towel then crush into small pieces.

2. Boil your water for the penne. Use the same pan as the bacon and melt 2 tblsp butter. Combine the milk and yogurt and add to the butter. Allow to simmer, then add 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and combine until cheese is fully melted.

3. Once the penne is al dente, drain the water and cover the noodles with the cheese sauce. Once the penne is coated, pour into a greased (with olive oil) casserole dish. Over the top, spread the left over cheddar. Then combine 1 cup of bread crumbs and 2 tbslp of olive oil and top the dish with the crumbs. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (5 minutes covered, 5 minutes uncovered).

If you want to make this for just you, just drain the pasta and melt the butter over the noodles and add the desired amount of cheese and allow the heat from the pasta to melt the cheese.  Simple, yummy and almost like home.

Enjoy!

S'mores Cake Pops

I know a little girl who LOVES chocolate. Her third birthday was yesterday, and just for her I made Devil's Food and S'more Cake Pops. Super moist and chocolatey, enjoy s'mores away from the camp fire.

WARNING: Highly addictive and irresistible.

S'mores cake pops have been my most popular recipe yet. Even my boyfriend, whose sweet tooth is very small, loves them.

Ingredients:

Vanilla or White cake mix

Mini chocolate chips

Marshmallow fluff like Jet-Puff

Graham Crackers

Mini marshmallows

Whipped white frosting

Veg Oil

Eggs

Water

Chocolate Candy Melts

Sucker Sticks

1. Mix the cake mix as instructed on the box. Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter. The chips will settle near the bottom of the cake, if this bothers you, coat them with flour before adding to the batter. Bake as instructed and allow to cool.

2. Process down two graham cracker sheets. And set aside with 1 cup of mini marshmallows.

3. Process down your cake until crumbs.

4. Add to the crumbs 1/2 cup of marshmallow fluff, 1/2 cup of white frosting, the processed graham crackers and 1 cup of mini marshamallows and combine.

5. Use about 3 tablespoons of the mixture and roll into cake balls.

6. Melt chocolate candy melts, dip in sucker stick and insert the stick in the cake ball and allow to harden. Process down 2 more graham crackers and quarter the mini marshmallows.

7. Once the chocolate is hard, dip the entire cake pop in the candy coating then the processed graham crackers for a delicious outer shell. While the coating is still wet, use the chocolate to place the marshmallow pieces on the grahams cracker layer.

8. Share and Enjoy!

Creamy-Healthy Carbonara (alright, alright...healthier)

Unfortunately, My photo refuses to turn 90 degrees clockwise, so please humor me and my tempermental photo by tilting your head.

Italian food is the ultimate comfort cuisine and carbonara is the ultimate comfort food. My recipe has a couple of twists.


Pancetta is replaced by bacon, whole eggs with yogurt and a few yolks and flavor added with red onion. And for protein, sauteed shrimp.

Ingredients:
Fettucine nests (5)
2 egg yolks
four slices of bacon
1/3 cup of yogurt
1 tablespoon of garlic
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese grated
1/2 pound of shrimp

Fry up your bacon until crispy and set aside to drain the grease. Use the left over grease in the pan to saute the red onion and garlic. Once the onion is soft, add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Once the shrimp is done, set aside with the bacon.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, yogurt and parmesan cheese. Transfer the cooked pasta straight from the boiling water to the saute pan and spoon in a little pasta water to the pan as well. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the pasta and toss quickly until creamy and steaming. This ensures that the egg cooks completely but doesn't solidify.

Crumble the bacon strips and add it to the pasta along with the shrimp. Grate some parmesan over the top and plate. So delicious. And about 300 calories less than traditional carbonara.

Gimme those Mojito Cake Pops

This is part two of the wedding test run and the kitchen smells just like a Mojito with fresh lime, mint and plenty of rum.

This recipe is super simple and since you saw the first cake pop recipe, no need to repeat all of the explanations and tips, so on to the recipe. If you haven't seen it already, check out my Mimosa-Mango Champagne pop in the last pop.





Ingredients:

1 box of white Betty Crocker cake mix
Club Soda
Rum
Lime (zest and juice)
Mint
3 egg whites
Vegetable oil
White candies

Blend the cake mix, 1 cup of club soda, 1/4 cup of rum, 3 tblsp of chopped mint, 2 tsp lime peel, 3 egg whites, 1/3 veggie oil. Bake it for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees in two square cake pans.

Allow them to cool then process down to crumbs. The mint adds amazing color to the batter and the cake crumbs once they are molded into balls.

Use fluffy white frosting and a cup of mojito drink to the crumbs. (club soda, rum, mint, lime juice and peel).

Just as before, combine until moist and mold into balls. Melt down a few candies and insert lollipop sticks.

I used Wilton's oil based coloring to make the white candy a Tiffany blue. I used edible sugar pearls and mint as decoration a garnish. So adorable.