Beer based bacon & cheddar mac n' cheese

What you'll need:

2-3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 box penne pasta

2 tbs butter, or 2 tbs bacon grease

2 tbs flour

1 & 1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 bottle dark beer

1 bag real bacon pieces or four strips of bacon, diced

Salt and pepper to taste, Italian breadcrumb and Parmesan cheese to top

Olive oil

What You'll Do:

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Boil your noodles and start your roux. Preferably use bacon grease if you have it, if not, melt 2 tbs butter over medium high heat and add 2 tbs flour. Whisk together until the two form a smooth paste. Slowly add 1/2 a bottle of any dark beer and keep whisking until all of the lumps disappear.

Next slowly add 1 & 1/2 cups of whole milk, continue to whisk and raise heat to high, continue to whisk. The mixture will slowly thicken, once it bubbles, lower the heat to low and add the shredded sharp cheddar. Continue to whisk until all of the cheese melts and then add the bacon pieces.

Strain the penne and add the noodles back into the pot they were boiled in. Pour the cheese and bacon mixture over the noodles and stir to cover the noodles. Pour the noodles into a large casserole dish and top with a thin layer of Italian flavored bread crumb mixed with grated Parmesan cheese. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the breadcrumb and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes until the cheese bubbles.

To brown the breadcrumb, set the oven to broil on high for five minutes after it's finished baking. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Very bad for you bacon & beer mac n' cheese topped w/ fried green tomatoes

Yeah you heard me right. LOL...I kind of make this up as I go along, so all the measurements are not exact...I pretty much eyeball everything.

Ingredients

1 box of whole grain pasta (Make it whole grain, let's do something healthy here) I use penne

1 bag of finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can of Guinness

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

1 bag of bacon pieces (use the real stuff, OR fry your own and use the bacon fat in lieu of butter for the roux)

Whole milk (or 2%, skim doesn't really make a good white sauce)

Corn meal

2 eggs

3 medium sized green tomatoes

Corn meal

Canola oil

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Slice the tomatoes THICK. Lightly salt and pepper each slice and dredge in the egg and then into the corn meal. Fry them until the corn meal is golden brown and set aside to drain.

Boil the water for the pasta. Meanwhile to make the roux, add the butter to a pan set over medium heat. After it melts add the flour, and whisk together. Continue to cook until there are no lumps and the roux is a golden color. Slowly add the beer, about 1/4 cup or so. Dark beer works best. Then add about 2-3 cups of milk. Continue to whisk and turn up the heat to high. Once it boils, lower the heat to a simmer and add the cheese, continuing to whisk the entire time.

Drain the pasta and add the pasta noodles to the pot of cheese sauce. Add the bacon pieces and pepper (there's enough salt in the cheese and the bacon). Add mixture to a baking sheet and top with some more shredded cheese, then top that with plain bread crumbs.




Top that with the tomatoes and bake at 350 until it's bubbly, about 10-15 minutes. ENJOY!