Pasta and Pigs

You have a really weird picture in your head now, don't you? Ha. Don't worry, once you scroll down and see the picture of this new dish you'll not only understand but have a happy picture instead! We love bacon. We love cheese. We love pasta. There you go. I just summed up my family in 3 tiny sentences. If you are a regular reader, none of those should come as a surprise. So picture me sitting in a car, riding home from FL (notice I didn't say driving, that is Adam's job) and it's about hour #10 in the car and I'm reading this month's Everyday with Rachael Ray and I come upon a recipe that combines all three!  I had already found the celery salad w/ blue cheese and normally if I find one usable recipe out of an issue, I'm happy, so two is an added bonus. I literally sat up in my seat and  made Adam look at the picture (which wasn't easy while trying to navigate the mountains of Chattanooga).  What a little treasure this is too. Now she presented it as "BLT" b/c she served a salad on the side to achieve the "L" part (you'll understand in a minute) but I'm not, so bye bye "L". How bad can a dish be when it has not 1, but 2 cheeses, plus bacon, plus tomatoes? Not bad, not bad at all. Three faves coming out of the same 9x13 pan---that's a successful dinner!

Bacon & Tomato Mac 'n' Cheese Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray


4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
16 oz rotini pasta
2 1/4 c. milk
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 oz. cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 1 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until almost al dente; drain. In the same pot, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat; stir in cream cheese until blended. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Add the pasta, bacon and tomatoes. Season w/ salt and pepper. Transfer to a 9x13 casserole dish and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

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