Crunchy Mac and Cheese

Kids have funny a sense of taste. My three for example: Tato HATES spice. And I mean hates. She won't eat anything if it has black pepper on it, or if she thinks it does. Little does she know she actually eats it all the time! Boo on the other hand LOVES spicey things. He loves hot sauce on his eggs and hot and sour soup. Part of that is his SPD. He tends to be hyposensitive when it comes to food. But even before we noticed problems he was all for anything spicey... Just like his Mom! Brookers is just plain a grazer. She doesn't care what it is, if it's food she'll eat it!

So how do you please such a picky crowd? My answer is crunchy mac and cheese. My kids named this dish crunchy because of the cereal I put on top. The idea for this dish came one night when we ordered Pizza Hut. For some odd reason we decided to order their mac and cheese with bacon too. It tasted good. We liked it. Little did we know that there was something better in the works.

A couple weeks later I got to thinking that that mac and cheese was really good but I thought I could make it better. After several months of trial and error I came to this recipe.

• 1 stick + 3 TBSP (reserved) margarine melted
• 5 TBSP flour
• 6 c. milk
• 4 oz. velveeta melted
• 4 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. mild or med. cheddar cheese cubed
• 1 c. grated colby jack cheese
• 1 lb bacon
• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 c. Honey bunches of oats cereal crushed
• 2 TBSP mustard
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Fry bacon till crisp and remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain grease.
3. Melt stick of butter in large pot then add flour and mix to form a roux. Let flour mixture cook for 1 minute then slowly add milk. Whisk together till smooth and mixture starts to thicken.
4. Then add melted velveeta and whisk till smooth. Next add your grated sharp cheddar a handful at a time. Allow the cheddar to melt in between handfuls so that it does not clump and melts smoothly.
5. Once sauce is thickened and cheese is melted add mustard, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Whisk together and set sauce aside.
6. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water for five minutes. It will finish it's cooking in the oven.
7. While macaroni is cooking crumble bacon. Add remaining reserved melted butter to crushed cereal and set aside.
8. When pasta is done drain thoroughly. Add cooked pasta, half of the bacon, and cubed cheese to the sauce mix well and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle in order the remaining bacon, colby jack cheese, and cereal mixture over the top of mac and cheese.
9. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly throughout and golden brown.

Footnotes

• You can substitue any mixture of cheeses that you feel pair well. This dish also reheats very well in the microwave. I like to serve this as a main dish meal with a small salad and dinner rolls. Also works great with skim milk and whole wheat pasta for a healthier version. The kids just eat it up! Literally!