Smoked Gouda Cheese Macaroni Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10 inch casserole dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook until a roux forms. Stir in the milk, salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is smooth and thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
• Combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce; transfer to prepared dish.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until heated through.

Steps:

• Fry bacon in a large skillet until crisp, remove to paper towels to drain. Add panko bread crumbs and toast in skillet until golden. Remove from heat and crumble bacon into bread crumbs, toss to combine.
• Using salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions, but do not rinse; set aside.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk. Whisking constantly, cook for 5 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low and stir in salt, black pepper and most of the cheese (note: add cheese about a cup at a time, stirring to incorporate so as not to cause graininess).
• In a large bowl combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce. The sauce will be thin, but will thicken once baked.
• Pour the pasta mixture into a lightly greased 8 x 11 x 2 baking dish. (Use a spatula to scrape out every ounce of that saucy goodness.) Sprinkle the top with the remaining cup of cheese and sprinkle with the prepared bacon/panko topping. (note: a layer of shredded parmesan cheese may be added prior to the sprinkling of the crumb topping, if desired.).
• Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to rest about 10-15 minutes.