When the kids activities kick into high gear one of the first things that is affected is dinner time. After school schedules get so jammed packed there it seems the only option is to head to the fast food joint again. With a little planning you can skip the fast food and cook a meal that provides the nutrients you need to keep the kids, and yourself going. This BLT Mac & Cheese is a twist on a classic dish.
Whether your kids are in soccer, baseball, football or maybe even karate, those practice and game nights can be difficult. During the time Nick plays baseball, it’s often a struggle to get dinner on the table after coming home from a game.
Did you know that Walmart not only has all the groceries you need to get dinner on the table fast – they also have a wide range of sporting goods equipment for your athlete as well as yourself! They have you covered with everything from chairs – to coolers – to snacks for the games!
I think everyone loves mac and cheese. Whether you are reminiscing of your moms’ homemade baked mac or thinking about the lean years when it seemed macaroni and cheese was all you could afford. There’s few other meals as comforting.
To top it off mac & cheese is a really good meal if your kid is involved in athletics, the carbohydrates give them the energy to perform and the addition of the bacon gives them protein to build their muscle. Serve it on a bed of lettuce and you just might entice the kids to eat a serving of vegetable.
And if you’re limited on time in the evening you can make this ahead of time and it will keep in the fridge for a day or two or you can freeze it and save it for up to a month. Just adjust your cooking time .
I’ve always struggled with making homemade mac & cheese, every recipe I have tried before required me to make a roue with flour and either I’m now good at this or I just do something wrong and the end result is a little gritty, sometimes really gritty. This recipe skips the use of the flour and I’ll have to say it’s my best attempt so far.
PrintBLT Mac & Cheese
- Total Time: 40 minutes
Description
A twist on a comfort food classic. Recipe from PocketChangeGourmet.com
Ingredients
- 6 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 16 ounces of pasta
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- Salt and Pepper
- leaf lettuce
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp
- While bacon is cooking preheat oven to 375 degrees and place a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until almost al dente. (2-3 minutes shorter than the package recommends) Drain.
- In the same pot add the milk and bring to a simmer, whisk in the tumeric, stir in the cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese until melted.
- Add the pasta, bacon and tomatoes.
- Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish and bake until heated through, 20 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve on a bed of leaf lettuce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray