What can make a mac & cheese dish even better? Fresh, local ingredients! There shouldn’t be much convincing needed to try this delicious twist on a traditional mac & cheese. 5 layers of meat, cheese and pasta will have you coming back for more. And did I mention one of the layers is bacon? Enough said.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Barille Protein Plus Elbow Pasta
• 4 tsp Kentucky Kernal Seasoned Flour
• 1 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
• ¾ cup Traders Point Creamery Whole Milk
• 4 oz. Traders Point Creamery Raw Garlic Dill Cheese
• 3 oz. Traders Point Creamery Raw Pepper Jack Cheese
• 3 oz. Fair Oaks Farm Smoked Provolone Cheese
• 4 oz. Fair Oaks Farm Mild Cheddar Cheese
• 2 large Seven Sons Seasonal Pasture Raised Brown Eggs
• 1 jar Crazy Charlie’s Salsa Con Queso Medium Heat
• 1 16 oz. pkg. Indiana Kitchen Natural Hardwood Smoked Bacon
• 1 4 oz. pkg. Original Broad Ripple Chip Co. Potato Chips
• 1 cup pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Cook entire package of bacon. Once cooked, crumble and set aside.

Chop 1 cup pecans in nut grinder or food processor until nicely ground; set aside.

Crush ½ package of potato chips and set aside.

Grate each type of cheese, putting into individual bowls and set aside.

Cook elbow pasta according to cooking instructions, minus 1 minute cooking time.  Drain, rinse and set aside.

In a large saucepan on low heat, melt the unsalted butter. Stir in seasoned flour until smooth. Gradually add the milk and stir until well blended. Add pasta.

Put saucepan back on low to medium heat, stirring to coat the elbow pasta. Add each cheese, one at a time, stirring to ensure that each cheese is well-mixed and the pasta is coated. Set aside.

Butter sides and bottom of 10, 4oz. ramekins. Layer the bottom of each ramekin with crumbled bacon. Next, layer on top of the bacon a layer on crushed pecans. Divide the 4-cheese macaroni into the 10 ramekins and layer on top of the crushed pecans. Layer crushed potato chips on top of the 4-cheese macaroni. Spoon 1 tsp. of Crazy Charlie’s Con Queso on top of the potato chips.

Warm in oven for 10 minutes.

Submitted by: Ray Graham
Indiana Grown Culinary Creations Contest