Hi Everyone,
Today’s recipe is one that I had on my bucket list for about 3 weeks. See a few weeks ago my boss treated us all to lunch at Lazy Dog’s and we decided to split the new hatch chile bacon mac and cheese that was featured on their website. After I took one bite, I just knew that I had to try making it at home. I did try to lightened it up a bit, but you can only go so low calories on Mac & Cheese before you lose the flavor. So today I am sharing with you my Lazy Dog’s version of Hatch Chile Bacon Mac & Cheese.
I will tell you this Mac & Cheese tastes amazing. It’s light, creamy, has a kick of heat without being to hot and you get little crispy bits of bacon. I truly love it and it is super easy to make. I tried to lighten it up by using non-fat milk and only using 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese. For the Hatch Chile’s I used Trader Joe’s Hatch Chile Salsa. Have you tried it? The salsa is amazing, a nice smoky, spicy southwestern flavor salsa. It complimented the macaroni and cheese perfectly. If you do not have Hatch Chile Salsa, I bet salsa verde would work great too. Just taste test it to see how much you need.
I went light on the bacon by only using 2 slices of it. I think with a bacon a little bit goes a long way. Though I am sure most people beg to differ on that. I used Trader Joe’s Applewood Bacon. I baked it in the oven because it so much easier than cooking bacon on the stove top.
To make the bacon, I placed the bacon on a baking sheet, baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Took the bacon out, drained the fat, flipped the bacon and baked for 5 more minutes. I took the bacon off of the baking sheet and let it drain on a paper towel.
- 3 cups uncooked medium elbow macaroni
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 2 cups fat-free milk
- 2 cups (8 ounces) medium sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Hatch Chili Salsa (you could use salsa verde if desired)
- 2 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
- Cook noodles according to directions. Once cooked, drain, rinse with cold water, set a side.
- While noodles are cooking, start the cheese sauce. Over low heat; in a large pot add flour, butter, salt and pepper, until the butter i smelted. Whisk in milk and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in cheddar cheese, until melted. Add cooked noodles, and stir until noodles are covered in cheese sauce. Stir in salsa and bacon; mix until combined.
I know this isn’t the lowest calorie dish ever, but it tastes amazing and it was something that I wanted to make and I just had to share it with you.
I just read that if you’re a pasta fan and trying to lose weight, they say have your pasta for breakfast or lunch and have a super light dinner. That way you have all day to burn off the carbs. 🙂
Have a super great day!
Toodles,
Jennifer
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OMG I NEEEED to try the Hatch Chili Salsa… especially since we don’t get hatch chills here! This may be one of your best recipes yet! I LOOOOOVE me some mac and cheese and with the hatch and bacon this is irresistible!
The Hatch Chile Salsa is amazing! You will love it!