Mac & Cheese with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Peas
If you have young kids in sports, then you will totally relate to this post.  Yesterday, my teenager started Spring Softball.  She’s been practicing for the past couple of weeks, but they had their first game last night.  Because we had to travel to another town it was impossible for us to eat dinner before we left.  Well, we could’ve but it would’ve been 4:30 in the afternoon.  Not my opinion of “dinner time”.  Game starts at 6 which means we won’t eat until 7:30 or 8 by the time we get home.  So typically, out of town games mean Taco Bell, Subway or some other quick and usually unhealthy meal.  
Last night was a tad different.  During the game, my 9 year old had an accident.  It was a “get him home now accident”.  Not very fun.  Luckily my Dad was at the game too and said he’d take home the Hubs and the teen after the game.  So off I went back to the house.  This new development meant we could have dinner at home instead of out as originally planned.  This made the Hubs happy and the Teen – furious!  Kids.  You can never do the right thing…especially when their bodies are brimming with teen angst.  Anyway, as you’ve seen in previous posts that I had made Canadian Bacon and it was calling to me to use it up.  The resulting recipe was quick, tasty and decent on the health scale (far better than Taco Bell).  Once the teen got over her 2 year old temper tantrum. she actually really enjoyed it as well.  Give it a try on a night when you need a quick meal.  The recipe is below.  
 
This is Frankie. She always looks this *happy*!

My Dad loves photography and had bought a Nikon D5000 a year or so ago.  He’s hardly seen without it.  Well one day he dropped a hint that he was upgrading to the latest and greatest and wasn’t needing the 5000 anymore.  He knows that I’ve been trying to get better photos for my blog and said he’d give it to me.  Well, it’s in my hot little hands and now I need to figure out how to use the darned thing.  There are so many bells, whistles, buttons, settings….blah blah blah.  It’s very confusing going from a point and shoot to the Mack Daddy of DSLR’s.  Anyway, today while I was waiting for noon to strike so I could warm up the Mac & Cheese, I went around the house and snapped some pics.

Just some of the seedlings that have taken over my back porch
Christmas Cactus that forgot it’s not Christmastime and bloomed again.
 
Sedum “Autumn Joy” just starting to bud. Pic was through glass so its not as crisp.

 

Mac & Cheese w/ Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Peas
{Printable Recipe}


Ingredients
4 cups Reduced Salt Chicken Broth
2 cups Fat Free Milk
1 lb shaped pasta
6 tbsp water
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1/4 lb Canadian Bacon, chopped
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 cup reduced fat Mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup reduced fat Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Pepper to taste

Instructions
  1. In a large pot add the chicken broth and milk and bring just to a boil.  Add the pasta to the milk mixture and cook according to directions, until al dente.
  2. In a small frying pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook until they begin to caramelize, about 7-9 minutes.  Add the Canadian bacon and continue to cook for 3-4 more minutes.  Add the peas and turn off the heat.
  3. In a small bowl add the water and cornstarch and mix to combine.  Add to the cooked pasta & milk mixture and stir will to incorporate.  Add the caramelized onions, bacon and both cheeses and stir to combine.  If the mixture is too stringy, you can add a touch more milk.  Add fresh ground pepper to taste and serve.
 
 

Recipe By:

Heather Scholten

Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather…

Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.

9 Comments

  1. I can totally relate! I got 2 teen girls-and yeah, they act just like that. The mac and cheese looks great, and fast, which is always a plus.

    Congrats on your new camera! 🙂

    Reply

  4. Okay, my stomach is growling now! I made a huge amount of Canadian bacon (about 7 pounds work) and stashed 2/3 of it in the freezer. I think it is time to pull out another chunk and make this mac & cheese. Maybe with smoked gouda (the current family fav).

    Reply

  8. Just for you Monica! 🙂 p.s. I took out the WW points on the nutrition since it’s specific to each person. If you omit the onions and bacon you could make this in one pot only! Love that.

    Reply

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