This meal was most definitely a happy accident. It was prompted by various items in my fridge and pantry that needed to be used up – the partial box of pasta, the bag of spinach, mushrooms that hadn’t been used for their intended purpose. And of course, a package of bacon courtesy of the Carnivore Club rewards at our local butcher shop. Mac and cheese lends itself well to lots of mix-ins, so the combination of spinach, bacon and mushroom in a new type of mac and cheese sounded good to me. When I mentioned the idea to Ben it was met with much excitement.
What surprised both of us was how much I loved this dinner. Up until now I have never been much of a bacon lover, but this meal was a turning point for me. I used some of the bacon grease to help make the roux for the cheese sauce and some to cook the mushrooms, and it infused the bacon flavor throughout the whole dish. It was awesome. I used a mixture of Fontina and white cheddar because that is what I had on hand, but I think this would also be great with a bit of Parmesan or maybe a dollop of cream cheese. If you have a bacon lover in your life, definitely make this dish for them. I’m confident that they will enjoy it!
*Quick housekeeping note – The winner of the Big Bowl of Love giveaway from last week is Jessica who said, “When I’m checking out a cookbook, I look for the whole package. I love great photos to really catch my attention and interesting recipes that don’t sound overwhelming. And, just like you, I won’t buy a cookbook unless I’m sure I’ll actually make more than half of the recipes in it… no sense in having a cookbook that I use for only one or two recipes!” Well said, Jessica. Enjoy your new cookbook!