Recipe: Spicy Mac & Cheese with Bacon

July is a great month for macaroni. The elbow pasta goes so well with the month that there are two days in July to celebrate it. July 7 is National Macaroni Day and July 14 is National Macaroni and Cheese Day.

Mac and cheese is a dish enjoyed by people of all ages. Most people associate it with those instant mac and cheese products on the shelves at supermarkets. But mac and cheese with real ingredients can be easy to make too. I’ve got a recipe where you can use real cheese instead of the highly processed cheese powder. Plus mine has a kick to it with its spices. And this blog is called The Appropriate Omnivore, so of course I want some meat with mine. And what meat can be added to anything the way bacon can.

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces of bacon, cut into 1 in. pieces
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1/2 pound elbow pasta (sprouted or brown rice pasta recommended)
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 oz sour cream
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 2-4 oz of pepper jack or spicy cheese, grated
Instructions
  1. Place frying pan on stove on medium heat for 5 minutes.
  2. Add in the pieces of bacon.
  3. Once bacon reaches desired crispiness, remove from pan and set aside
  4. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan on high heat
  5. Add pasta, continually stirring, for about 8-10 minutes
  6. Remove from the heat.
  7. Strain the pasta and place back in pan.
  8. Add the butter, stirring to mix with the pasta until the butter is completely melted.
  9. Add the sour cream and hot sauce, stirring until all mixed together
  10.  Add the sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne, mixing everything together. You can add more of any of the seasonings if to your liking.
  11.  Add in the bacon and stir together with the pasta.
  12.  Transfer pasta to plate and grate as much cheese as you’d like on top of it. You can also add more seasoning at this time.

Leave a Reply