Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese (made with Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup)

This is very good. And it was one of those preschooler breakthrough meals... Benjamin was very hesitant to try it, doing his usual whining about how he doesn't like it, even though he's never tried it (yeah, my almost 5-year-old doesn't eat mac and cheese). But he took a bite and loved it! Success!

This recipe can (and probably should) be easily doubled. The original recipe only serves 4 very small portions, so definitely try doubling it if you're serving people who like mac and cheese.

Also, since the recipe called for only 1/3 cup of it, I tried my hand at homemade cream of mushroom soup. And it was super easy because it was done in the crockpot. So I'll include that recipe on here as well.

Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese
Courtesy of Cooking Light



8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1 slice applewood-smoked bacon
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded six-cheese Italian blend
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded colby-Jack cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Finely chop bacon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes or until done.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°F. Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and salt, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.

Preheat broiler.

Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-Jack cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

**********************************************************

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Courtesy of crockpot365.blogspot.com

2 lbs mushrooms
2 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 quart of milk (to add later)

Wash your mushrooms well and cut them into fourths. Put into your stoneware and add the spices and lemon juice. Pour in the vegetable broth and water.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

CAREFULLY use an immersible hand blender and blend until soupy. If you don't have an immersible hand blender, very, very carefully blend in batches in a regular blender.

Stir in an entire quart of milk. You can use any percentage you'd like; even cream.

Let cool on the counter for quite a few hours (or refrigerate overnight), then pour into freezer bags or plastic containers to store.