Bacon, ranch and chicken mac n' cheese

yummy comfort food? Yes please!  Ever since I saw this recipe I knew that the hubs was going to make it. In fact, I told him about it and he was like 'we're making it next week'. Unfortunately, given the wedding and all we didn't end up making it until two weeks ago.

If you have your hopes up for a traditional macaroni and cheese, you will be disappointed.  This one is creamy in the middle due to the can of cream of mushroom and a bit crispy on the top from the additional cheese.  It came together so quickly, I can't even tell you.

I think the only change we made was to use dried dill instead of fresh (they were all out at Wegmans; it happens sometimes when you go at night during the week). 

Clearly we're not the only ones who liked it. As of today's post, 27 people gave it an average rating of 4 out of 5.  I also felt like this portion size was adequate.

Recipe by SaBrina Bone, Cooking Light, March 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups)

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1  slice applewood-smoked bacon
• 8  ounces  skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  cups  fat-free milk
• 1/3  cup  condensed 45% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded six-cheese Italian blend (such as Sargento)
• 1/2  teaspoon  onion powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  chopped fresh dill
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded colby-Jack cheese

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Finely chop bacon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes or until done.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°. Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and salt, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.
4. Preheat broiler.
5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-Jack cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 497

Fat: 17g (sat 9.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.4g)

Protein: 33.3g

Carbohydrate:51.7g

Fiber: 2g

Cholesterol:74mg

Iron: 2.4mg

Sodium:767mg

Calcium:368mg