Apple Bacon Mac and Cheese

Source:  Better Homes and Gardens

In a skillet, cook 6 bacon slices.  Crumble, set aside.  Discard all but 1 T drippings, add three chopped apples and 1 chopped onion, and cook 3 minutes.  Set aside.  Melt 2 T butter in skillet.  Stir in 2 T flour and 1/2 t black pepper.  Add 2 cups of milk, 2 t Dijon mustard, 1 cup shredded white cheddar, and 1 cup shredded smoked Gouda until melted.  Stir in 8 oz.  cooked shell macaroni, apples and half the bacon.  Transfer to a baking dish.  Bake in a 350 degree oven 30 minutes.  Top with remaining bacon.

If you know me at all, you know that as soon as I saw this recipe, I had to make it.  It has unusual pairings of ingredients.  It has bacon.  My daughter loves macaroni and cheese.  And this dish will make good leftovers.  To top it all, it's almost fall, so a lovely apple dish was calling my name.

This is a fairly labor intensive dish to make.  You have to boil the pasta, fry the bacon, saute the onions/apples, make your bechamel sauce.  So it's not a quick and easy dish to make.  I was also too lazy to get the smoked gouda, and was using 2 cups of cheddar cheese.

This is a wonderful, wonderful twist on mac and cheese.  The sauce is surprisingly sweet -- I think the apples add a note of sweetness.  The bacon is a nice counter to the sweetness.  And don't fear the apples -- they are mostly there for texture, and a tiny burst of freshness to cut the heaviness of the dish.  I think the smoked gouda would have been a really nice touch, so if you can use it -- do.  But definitely try this dish, it's absolutely delightful.