Tonight’s dinner was a REAL treat!
There are only a handful of meals that can really get my husband excited; anything that includes beef, and he’s a happy camper. But as soon there’s mention of “mac & cheese,” then I’ve really got his attention.
Throw in the words “chicken,” “bacon,” and “ranch” and I’ve got him hooked.
Tonight, he was definitely hooked, thanks to this recipe! 
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Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Mac & Cheese
(Recipe adapted from myrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
-
- 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1 slice bacon
- 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups fat-free milk
- 1/3 cup condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted
- 3/4 cup shredded six-cheese Italian blend
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese
Directions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
- 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.
- Heat oil 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.
- Preheat broiler. 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. ENJOY!
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First, cook your pasta, drain it, and set aside.
Next, cook your one, lonely strip of bacon. Just don’t overcook it like I do. 
Using the same pan, cook your chicken in the remaining bacon drippings.
Once the chicken and bacon are cooked, start prepping your cheese sauce. Heat up the oil in the bottom of your pasta saucepot…no sense in dirtying more dishes, right? Add the flour and stir continuously for about 2 minutes.
Next, whisk together your cream of chicken soup and milk…
…and add it to the saucepan.
Once the sauce has been heated and brought to a boil, remove from heat and allow to cool to about 155 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, just wait about 5 minutes, and you should be good to go!
Next, add in your cheese & spices.
Whisk everything together until the cheese is all melty and smells incredible.
Now, go ahead and add in your pasta and chicken, and let everything get nice and acquainted.
Mmmmm, so cheesy!
Pour the mac & cheese into an 8-inch square baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
Then go ahead and add some MORE cheese! 
Oh yeah, and the bacon, too.
Place the mac & cheese under your preheated broiler for about 3 minutes, and before you know it, you’ve got yourself one amazing, cheesy dish of mac & cheese!
Ready to dig in!!
Does that not look tasty or what??
While I finished up the mac & cheese, I had a little help from hubby preparing some side salads.
I figured it would be a good idea to add some veggies to curb myself from OD’ing on mac & cheese, and it worked. Talk about delicious!
Our salads consisted of some mixed greens, cukes, tomato, red pepper, & onion, drizzles with some roasted red pepper vinaigrette.
The mac & cheese was probably one of my favorite to date; it had all the flavor of the full-fat version, but thanks to the use of skim milk and a smaller amount of cheese, you’ve only got half the guilt!
Apparently, this dish is even feline-friendly, too?
He’s such a little sneak!
Time to get ready to get back to the grind tomorrow…hey, at least it was a great weekend!
Hopefully yours was just as fun!
ahaha I love all of the foods that get your husbands attention, its funny how they hear meat and all the sudden interested! glad you had a great weekend :)
Mac n cheese is one of my favorites! That looks delicious.
i love this girl :) i love finding new things to add to mac n cheese because i realized after 24 years of eating it all the time, i want to add a bit more flavor to the classic dish! going to get on this asap! have a great sunday! xo
Mmmm….. love mac’n’cheese! Since I don’t eat meat, do you think I’d be able to sub something else in? :D
Definitely! I’m sure tofu would work, or maybe some chickpeas???
My brother in law would love this!!! I can’t wait to make it for him!! :) Thanks for the recipe!
My husband loves mac and cheese too. Thanks for sharing. We’ll definitely try this recipe soon.
Oh I bet the family would enjoy every bite of this. Any suggestions for a substitution for the canned condensed soup?
I’ve never tried it, but perhaps this might work? http://www.food.com/recipe/condensed-cream-of-chicken-soup-substitute-gluten-free-384201
oh YUM! I’m always hesitant about making mac&cheese dishes, but this recipe doesn’t seem too fatty
Thanks for sharing!
Lovely! Cody is sooo cute – he makes me laugh, licking that bowl! We are going to be adopting a cat soon ourselves – sooo excited but I can’t say too much yet as I don’t know for sure when or who it will be… fingers crossed as we have our hopes on one particular little cat we saw but waiting to hear. I would love to hear any advice for us as first time cat owners. He won’t be a kitten as we’re going for a rescue – we thought we’d provide a good home for an older guy to settle down in! x
Awwww, that’s so exciting!! Oh gosh, advice…well, let’s see. For one, I’d have to say to definitely get him acquainted with the litter box. Lead him to it, stick his paws in it, make sure he knows where it is. Definitely pay LOTS of attention to him/her and try to get him/her to play with you. We also let Cody do a little exploring on his own when he first came around, but he was also just a little guy! Luckily, cats are pretty easy, so as you long as you feed it, love it, and change its litter box, you’ll be all set. Good luck! :)
Do you actually put RANCH in it? Or did I miss that on the ingredient list?
The dill is supposed to give it a bit of a ranch flavor :)
Hi Courtney!!
thanks so sharing, this looks awesome…
i am going to make this tomorrow night for my boyfriend. cooking for him for the first time (its a recent thing ;) ) and he eats like that of an 8 year old boy so i think this would be perfect!!!! gourmet but still simple.
what kind of wine did u pair it with? he’s a fan of chard and i think that would be a pretty good match?
thanks!
Awesome…I bet he’ll love it!
I paired mine with a pinot grigio, since that’s all I had on hand. But I’m sure a chardonnay would taste just as delicious. ENJOY! :)
perfect! I was desperately searching for a new recipe for tonight and this is what we’re makin!