Deepfrieddiamonds

This past weekend we experienced our last heat wave before welcoming in the first day of Fall. At the beginning of this week it really started to cool off here in North East PA, and I don’t know about you Diamonds, but it has me craving all of the best comfort food. My bacon and broccoli bake is a savory, hearty, and cozy macaroni and cheese dish you’ll rush to put on your weekly dinner rotation all season long! You can make a meal out of it or serve it as a side with homemade Italian chicken cutlets, just like we did tonight. If you grew up in an Italian household as I did, you know how good they are. They’re so good you could eat them cold straight out of the fridge and still experience the joys of culinary greatness!

Let’s get back into the macaroni bake!

During this time of the changing of the seasons; I can’t help but to dive head first into all things fall, halloween, and anything spooky themed, even if it’s a little too cutesy like my mummy plates! I die for pieces of the sorts!! Not literally of course, but emotionally. Lol. Casseroles, pasta bakes, and anything you can slow cook in the oven for hours and hours that fill your house with the savoriest of smells is exactly what I’m craving this fall. Dishes like these are great for week nights because they’re seriously so simple to create, while being extremely packed with flavor. What more could we ask for while trying to unwind after a long day of work, get the kids to football or cheerleading practice, dance or swimming, and then get a meal on the table right after so everyone can get to bed at a proper time to do it all over again the very next day. Unless we’re lucky enough for it to be Saturday! If you’ve been looking for recipes that fit perfectly into your busy week nights, you’re reading the right post!

Doesn’t that stunning scoop just make your mouth water?!

If it is you’re in luck because here’s the RECIPE:

• Start by boiling your favorite macaroni or pasta shape. You can get really on theme here with the fall season by choosing the leaf shaped or pumpkin shaped pasta that you can find at all of the markets that are selling seasonal goods!
• Chop up half of a pack of bacon into bite size pieces and sauté in a very large sauce pan. We will be keeping the bacon in the pan and mixing everything together before piling it all into a casserole dish to bake.
• While the bacon is rendering, add in an entire chopped white onion along with a small head of broccoli. Also chopped!
• Sauté for 15 minutes to let the bacon get crispy and the vegetables get some caramelization on them. Then, season with sea salt, lemon pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and honey to taste.
• Add 4oz. of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard. Once combined, deglaze all of that beautiful bacon flavor with 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/8 cup of chicken stock.
• Let that simmer for two minutes to marry the flavors.
• Melt in 1/2 pound of Cooper sharp and 1/4 pound of regular American cheese on low heat for a few minutes before adding in the pasta.
• Pour is 8oz. of pasta water into our pasta bake mixture before draining the pasta.
• Drain and rinse the pasta.
• Add the rinsed pasta into the sauté pan along with 1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese.
• Once everything is combined with your pasta of choice, pour into a large casserole dish and top with a blend of cheddar cheeses and Cooper sharp for that nice cheesy crust everybody longs for when they scoop into a pasta bake!
• Bake at 375 degrees covered for 20 minutes.
• Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

I don’t know if you Diamonds noticed or not, but this recipe contains no milk at all! Only cheese! I wanted it to be very flavorful and loaded with tons of melty, gooey cheese. Which is exactly what this macaroni bake is!

Best served steaming HOT, garnished with bright green parsley or your favorite fresh herb.

If you enjoyed this recipe and have been wanting more week night meals for busy schedules during the fall season, leave a comment down below letting me know!

XOXO