Pumpkin Bacon Mac & Cheese

More bacon, I know.  But I made half recipes of this awesome pumpkin bacon mac and cheese as well as the tasty pea and bacon risotto... two half recipes = one package of bacon.

Anywho, this dish turned out pretty great (despite the terrible photos, sorry).  I combined two recipes I found online to make my final product.  I basically followed the sauce instructions from this recipe (minus the honey and all-spice), combined with the onion, bacon and buttered breadcrumb topping from this recipe.  Plus my own addition: some minced garlic with the onion.  

Healthier than your average mac and cheese, but still cheesy enough to satisfy your craving.  

Stovetop Mac & Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Rabe

Over a year ago I attempted to make some stovetop mac & cheese... it was a colossal FAIL. I decided to try another recipe to see if I could conquer the beast, and it fared much better. Probably because I used cheddar rather than American cheese. American is the devil.This time, I tried a new recipe and threw in some cauliflower and broccoli rabe that I'd roasted with olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Creamy, rich, and delicious!

Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower

After my last, painfully terrible attempt at mac & cheese, I felt that I needed to make amends. Thus, I turned back to Ina, who is generally reliable and delicious. Her baked mac & cheese is particularly awesome. I made it for Tim's 30th birthday and it was a hit.

This time, I shook things up a wee bit. I got some cauliflower in my CSA share, and decided to incorporate it into the mac and cheese, inspired by all those "fool-your-kids-and-force-them-to-unknowingly-eat-vegetables-under-the-guise-of-deliciously-decadent/low-brow-foods" books out there, as well as the last Ina recipe I cooked.

This was awesome: crispy, cheesy, creamy!

I followed Ina's recipe except for the topping (skipped the tomatoes, used panko instead of fresh breadcrumbs), but added a head of cauliflower, cut into mini-florets and boiled in the leftover pasta water for about 4-5 minutes.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese: Partial FAIL

So... Chuck was craving mac & cheese this week, so I thought I would try out this stovetop method I found online. It was super easy- akin to boxed mac & cheese.

Out of laziness I used some American cheese that was in the fridge because I didn't have any cheddar. Bad idea. I thought using American would be fine... not gourmet, for sure, but fine. It was icky, though. Gummy and tasteless.

I think the method would work if I had used nicer cheese, though. I'll try it again some time when I want mac & cheese quickly. If I have more time, though, Ina Garten's baked mac & cheese is fabulous- I made it for Tim's birthday party and it was a hit. I used panko bread crumbs as the topping, and omitted the tomatoes- awesome.