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Bacon, cheese, tomatoes, pasta, and chicken. Did I mention the cheese sauce? |
Hello August. Or should
I say goodbye? You've come and go so quickly. Is it really the fourth
Monday? It's a good thing I remember it was time to make my Secret Recipe Club pick last night!
I was tickled when I
got my assignment this month! I was assigned Fantastical Sharing ofRecipes and she had me last month! Too fun! I perused her sight and
was immediately drawn to her Bacon Chicken Alfredo Pasta. It doesn't
hurt that I always put bacon in my alfredo! I did enjoy that she had
a different take and make it into a cheddar and parmesan sauce
instead of just a parmesan sauce! I added a twist and replaced the
parmesan with asiago. Feel free to use your favorite tomato as well. My cherry tomato plant is between batches at the moment, and yesterday morning I found this guy. Grr. It's going to be a bit longer before I have new tomatoes.
This recipe looks
complicated from its long ingredient list, but don't be discouraged.
It's easy to make and delicious!
Bacon Chicken Alfredo
Pasta
Ingredients:
2 chicken bone-in chicken breasts, baked at 400ºF for 45 minutes or until done (or leftover rotisserie chicken)
1 cup diced ham
1 tablespoon brown
sugar
4 slices of your
favorite bacon
1 tomato of your choice
1 crown of broccoli
8 ounces pasta of your
choosing (elbow macaroni works well)
Shaved or grated
parmesan cheese, for passing
Sauce:
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth (I
make mine with water and chicken bouillon)
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup shredded white
cheddar cheese
1 cup grated asiago
cheese
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon garlic
powder
¼ teaspoon onion
powder
½ teaspoon red pepper
flakes
½ teaspoon cracked
black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
From a cold skillet
over medium heat, fry bacon until crispy (or your desired done-ness),
place on paper towels to drain and set aside. Remove all but one
teaspoon of bacon grease from the skillet and add diced ham. Sprinkle
a tablespoon of brown sugar on top of the ham, and toss until the ham
is golden and the brown sugar has caramelized. Remove ham from
skillet and set aside. Add broccoli and saute quickly until brown on
the edges. Chop or shred the chicken and chop the tomato. Set aside.
Over medium heat, melt
2 tablespoons butter. Add 2 tablespoons flour, salt, pepper, garlic,
and onion powder and whisk together with the butter until bubbly.
Continue whisking, and slowly add the milk, cream, and the chicken
broth. Whisk constantly to prevent lumps. Continue whisking until the
sauce has thickened. Turn heat to low, and add the grated cheddar and
Parmesan cheese, one handful at a time, stirring constantly. Make
sure the cheese is melted before your next addition. Once melted and
mixed thorougly, turn your heat to the lowest temperature and cover.
Prepare your pasta until al dente. Drain well.
Plate the pasta, and
serve the sauce over the top. Crumble your bacon on top of the sauce,
and also top with ham, broccoli, tomatoes and grated parmesan cheese.
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You can choose to serve it all in one dish or as a pasta with customizable toppings. |
THOUGHTS:
My word I have a lot of
dirty dishes! Next time I'll combine it all into one dish (minus the
tomatoes) and serve it all mixed up to prevent the use of so many
bowls! In the meantime, it was easy and delicious! The sugared ham
was a nice foil to the broccoli and cheese. The tomatoes brightened
things up and kept the dish from being too heavy. Overall, it was
great!
I have a lot of
leftovers, and I'm still debating what to do with them. I've combined
everything into one dish (except the tomatoes of course) and am
contemplating eating them cold for lunch tomorrow (yes, I like mac
and cheese cold). OR I could put it in a baking dish, crumble more
bacon on top with a bit more cheese and bake it for forty-five
minutes at 350. One pot mac and cheese! Many thanks to Fantastical
Sharing of Recipes for sharing this outstanding dish!
VERDICT:
Not-bad-and-very-filling:
1 vote*
Hey-that's-pretty-good:
1 vote
*Bender's vote changed the next day. Now it's more along the lines of Man-this-is-awesome-it's terrific-you-should-always-serve-it-all-mixed-up-after-the-sauce-has-thickened!
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Yummy cheesy goodness! |