Most Delicious Mac Ever.

A few months ago I was reading one of my favorite local/ food blogs and I was introduced to the idea of adding a few of my favorite things to one of my absolute favorite dishes. Jalapenos + Bacon + Macaroni and Cheese. Oh gosh. It's so good.

There are pictures and words and possibly some semblance of a recipe on that original post but I must say I didn't really pay attention for the drooling. This is what I came up with after those three magical things were put together for my brain to wrap itself around.

1 lb box of Rigatoni (cooked al dente) drain and set aside

4 Tbls Butter- melt in heavy saucepan add 4 Tbls flour, cook roux until bubbly and the raw flour smell is gone

Add 4 cups of milk- I do it slowly and whisk the roux in as I go. Bring to a low boil and let thicken a bit.

To make it super fantastic: Add chopped up Jalapeno slices from the jar (hot, mild, many or few- it's up to you) Bacon- I just used a package of the Hormel bacon pieces you find near the salad dressing because I was being kind of lazy today. A few splashes of the juice from the jar of jalapenos.

Cheese, obviously. I use one package of shredded (2 cups) today I had Colby Jack on hand but I've used Cheddar or the 6-cheese Italian blend- it's whatever you like.

Once the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened to your liking pour the sauce over the pasta and mix it a bit.

Enjoy.

Texas Poppers

This is my first official post, so bear with me. I've been trying new things lately, as far as cooking goes. On Sunday, I grilled for the first time! Not just meat, but potatoes and nectarines as well. To be honest, I think I cooked the meat a little too long but nobody complained.

Last night, I tried out a recipe that I got from my dad. He calls them Texas poppers. It's supposed to be as follows:

Jalapenos
Pineapple cream cheese
Shrimp
Bacon
Toothpicks
Dad's secret BBQ sauce for dipping (it really is a secret, sorry!)

You cut the top off the pepper, then take out the middle and slice it in half the long way. Put a wad of cream cheese inside. Put a shrimp on top, wrap with bacon and secure with a toothpick.

I couldn't find pineapple flavored cream cheese* at the store, so I got plain. No big deal. I also made them without the shrimp, but that was on purpose. I kinda like them that way. My mistake was when I put them in the oven to BAKE. I should have put them on BROIL. I've had these twice before and the pepper was a little crunchy, while the bacon was fully cooked and somewhat crispy.

How long do you cook them? I don't know! I haven't done it right yet.

*Erin adds crushed pineapple to plain cream cheese and likes that better than the kind you can buy already combined.