Bacon and Mac and cheese are nearly the perfect combination. To the point where I feel all Mac and cheese should have bacon in it. Good macaroni and cheese seems like it can be rather expensive and consist of many different ingredients. This recipe is fairly simple and it gets the job done. What I think really makes this recipe stand out is the flavor of the bacon gets baked into the entire dish. The bacon adds great flavor to this Mac and cheese. If you want to use regular sharp cheddar cheese instead of white cheddar, you can. This is perfect if you’re looking for a simple Mac and cheese recipe. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1/2lb sliced bacon (diced)
1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
2 cups milk
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon onion salt
ground black pepper (to taste)
2 (10 ounce) blocks sharp white cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup butter (melted)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottom of a medium casserole dish. In a large skillet over medium-high heat fry bacon (in batches if necessary) until crisp.
Step 2: Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking in a saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Blend in the flour onion salt, and pepper until smooth. Slowly whisk in the milk, a little at a time getting rid of any lumps. Add shredded cheese until the sauce has become thick.
Step 3: Drain noodles, and in a bowl stir them into the cheese sauce. Mix in bacon. Pour the noodle mixture into the casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle the bread crumbs mixture over the noodles in the casserole dish.
Step 4: Place into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
(Makes 6 Servings)

White cheddar chicken pasta is a dish that will probably end up among your favorites. This particular dish is something that I could eat at least once a week. I have tried a lot of different chicken pasta recipes but this has to be one of the best. The chicken is seasoned with dry mustard, thyme, and salt and pepper for an all around great flavor. The best part which is the sauce combines ingredients such as white cheddar cheese, wine, milk, and garlic. There are additional seasonings added to the sauce for even more flavor. There is even a little bit of red pepper flakes to add a nice kick to this recipe. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon thyme
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1lb rotini pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 onion (diced)
¼ cup white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
8 ounces white cheddar cheese (grated)
2 cups milk
½ tablespoon thyme
½ tablespoon oregano
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small bowl mix together mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook on both sides until golden brown and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. Remove from the pan and slice into strips.

Step 2: Cook rotini pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooked melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and mix well with the butter to combine. Add wine, garlic, onion, and Dijon mustard. Cook about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and slowly add milk stirring to combine. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken. Add white cheddar cheese and stir it into the sauce until it has melted.
Step 3: Drain noodles and transfer them to a large serving bowl. Mix in white cheddar sauce, add the chicken and toss until well combined. Season with thyme, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Top with Parmesan cheese while serving.
(Makes 6 Servings)

With all of the different types of quesadillas there are, I always have a hard time deciding which ones to make. This time I decided to try a delicious looking recipe for shrimp quesadillas. In this particular recipe, the shrimp are marinated in a mixture of lime juice and various spices. These quesadillas can be pretty spicy and you can adjust the seasonings to change the level of heat. Most of the heat comes from cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and hot paprika. You can add more or less to meet your tastes. These go great topped with Guacamole, sour cream, and Pico de Gallo.

Ingredients:
1lb raw shrimp (peeled and deveined with tails removed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped)
1 lime (the juice of)
16 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup red onion (sliced)
8 medium flour tortillas
Cooking Spray

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a  medium bowl add olive oil, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Add jalapeno peppers and shrimp. Add lime juice and mix well tossing to coat the shrimp. Let shrimp sit for about 10 minutes to work in the flavors.
Step 2: Heat a medium skillet to medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook until the shrimp are fully cooked (should only take about 5 minutes). Once shrimp are cooked, remove them from the pan and chop them into pieces (this step is optional, if they are small you can leave them whole).

Step 3: Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Place a flour tortilla face down on the skillet. Sprinkle the top evenly with cheese. On one side of the tortilla sprinkle the shrimp mixture and red onion. Cook until the bottom is lightly browned and the cheese has melted. Fold one side of the tortilla over the top and press down with a spatula. Remove from the pan and repeat until all of the quesadillas are made.
(Makes 8 Servings)

Spaghetti Carbonara is perfect for your weekly dinner menu. This dish is a classic that combines bacon with noodles, an egg mixture and a delicious wine sauce. The Parmesan cheese is an important ingredient in this recipe because of the flavor that it adds. This recipe does call for raw egg; however, any bacteria will be killed when the egg mixture is combined with the hot noodles. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 slices bacon (diced)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
¼ cup white wine
4 eggs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small bowl combine eggs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside. Cook noodles according to package directions.
Step 2: While noodles are coking. In a medium skillet over medium heat cook bacon until slightly crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook until the onion is tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and cook for another minute.
Step 3: Drain noodles when they are finished cooking and put into a large serving dish. While the noodles are still very hot toss them with the parmesan/egg mixture.  Then add the onion and wine mixture and toss well to coat. Then add bacon and toss again. Top with parsley and additional parmesan cheese for serving.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Buying taco seasoning from the store can get old after awhile, and it may be time to consider making your own. In the long run this could save you a lot of money and to top it off, it just tastes better. Luckily this taco seasoning consists of many household spices that chances are you already have on hand. Some of the spices in this seasoning mixture include chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You should use about 3 tablespoons of this seasoning mixture per pound of meat. This recipe can easily be double, tripled, ect. So if you want make a large batch and store it away for future use. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small bowl combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an air tight container.
Step 2: This can be used to season taco meat. Every 3 tablespoons of this mixture should be added to 1lb of taco meat.

Chili cheese dogs are one of the best quick and easy meals you can make. They are perfect for parties or just for a simple dinner. This recipe includes a delicious chili sauce that goes great on these hot dogs. It will also go perfect on Chili Cheese Fries. You can make the sauce ahead of time because it freezes well and can be used at any time. The sauce also makes a lot so I would either cut it down a little or freeze the leftovers for future use. What really makes the sauce stand out is the cinnamon. I think the cinnamon really adds a great flavor to this chili sauce. Forget using canned chili for your chili cheese dogs when you have this recipe. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
8 hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
1 (8 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese
Chili sauce-
1lb hamburger
4 cups water
2 (6 ounce) cans chicken stock
1 (4 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried onions
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large pot add water, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Place the raw hamburger in the liquid and break it down so there are no chunks. Add dried onion, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cinnamon, parsley, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 hours or until the mixture becomes thick. Stir often. The mixture can be placed on hot dogs right away or cooled, placed into a container and frozen for future use.
Step 2: Cook hot dogs according to your method of choice. Boiling, grilling, pan frying, ect.
Step 3: Place hot dogs on each bun, top with chili sauce and cheddar cheese.
(Makes 8 Servings)

For hot wing lovers this recipe is nearly perfect. For making these wings I have used the method of broiling them instead of frying. In this method the wings are first parboiled, and then placed into the oven under the broiler for about 15 minutes per side. This leaves the wings with a nice crispy skin and they are very tender on the inside. The spicy garlic sauce packs a good amount of heat. It gets its kick from franks red hot and cayenne pepper. If you would prefer boneless wings, just see my article on How to Make Boneless Chicken Wings, and coat them with this spicy garlic sauce. These wings are perfect for your Super bowl party.

Ingredients:
3lbs chicken wings
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
Spicy Garlic Sauce-
1 cup Frank’s Red Hot SAUCE
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small sauce pan over medium heat combine hot sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolk and water. Add cornstarch and continue to whisk until its completely dissolved.
Step 2: Slowly add warm hot sauce mixture to the egg mixture while whisking. Do this until it is well combined. Cover and chill sauce until needed.

Step 3: Fill a large pot of water halfway full and then add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil  and boil for 15 minutes. After the wings have finished boiling, drain and lay wings out on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Using the broiler on your oven, broil the wings for 15 minutes on each side.
Step 4: Toss wings with spicy garlic sauce and serve.
(Makes 6 Servings)

If you want a simple but delicious appetizer chili cheese fries are exactly what you’re looking for. I wouldn’t really consider this a recipe but more like guidelines for making chili cheese fries. Just as the name says, chili cheese fries are fries topped with chili and shredded cheese. Garnishing with green onions adds a really nice flavor into the mix. To save the most time and effort, using canned chili will work the best but you can also use leftover chili or even make your own. If you want to save even more time, a lot of this can be done in the microwave. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 (32 ounce) package French fries
1 (8 ounce) bag shredded Colby jack cheese
1 (15 ounce) can chili with no beans
2 green onions (sliced)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Deep fry (or bake) French fries according to package directions. Drain on paper towels.  In a medium sauce pan over medium heat the chili until it is heated through.
Step 2: Arrange fries on the bottom of a baking sheet or oven safe dish. Top with chili, and top with shredded Colby jack cheese. Top with green onions and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted (can also be done in the microwave on plates).
(Makes 6 servings)