Cheesy Cravings

For me nothing beats a cheesy craving like mac n' cheese. Early on in my pregnancy I felt like a child on a "white and yellow" diet wanting nothing but cheese and bread and pasta and just a few weeks ago I discovered a new way to indulge that craving with Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac n' Cheese. Oh yes indeed.

In the interest of full disclosure, this recipe was originally printed in Cooking Light so I've linked to that version, but I'm not watching my calories as much these days so I've modified a bit below.

Ingredients
1 box (14-16oz) uncooked elbow macaroni
4 slices (about 1/4 lb) sliced bacon
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
½ can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 ½ cup shredded Italian blend cheese
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup shredded colby-Jack cheese

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

While pasta is cooking, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving about 1 tablespoon of drippings in pan. Increase heat to medium-high and add chicken to drippings in pan. Season chicken with 1/2 of the onion powder, garlic powder, dill and s&p. Sauté 6 minutes or until done.

In a new, large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk and gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155° (this helps ensure the sauce doesn't get grainy when you add the cheese, so be patient!).

Preheat broiler and crumble bacon while sauce is cooling. Once cooled slightly add Italian cheese blend and remaining onion powder, garlic powder, dill, s&p, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.

Spoon into 9x13 casserole dish. Top with crumbled bacon and colby-jack cheese. Broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese melts.