Bacon Ranch Chicken (or Turkey) Mac n Cheese

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday!  We did and now we're all getting back to our normal schedules.  No more sleeping in.....Boo! 

It is great to be back with a new recipe to share with you.  I know a lot of us are making goals at this time of year to get in shape or at least eat healthier after consuming all those holiday treats.  This recipe doesn't sound healthy or light, but it originally comes from Cooking Light.  I plan on adapting this recipe by using ingredients that I already have on hand.  It won't turn out as light, but I hope it will be flavorful and still a little lighter than traditional Macaroni and Cheese.  Baby steps...  

Ingredients (printable recipe)
1 lb. box of uncooked elbow macaroni
4 slices bacon
16 oz or about 3 cups of cooked chicken or turkey, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
OR you can use uncooked skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
3 cups fat free milk
2/3 cup condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, provolone, parmesan mix or shredded Italian blend
2 teaspoons Ranch seasoning
cooking spray
1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Cook Bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Chop bacon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken or turkey to drippings in pan; Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper; Just heat through if the chicken or turkey is already cooked. If chicken is uncooked, saute 6 minutes or until done.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; set aside near the stove top. You will need this mixture in the next step.
5. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. You are making a roux. The butter and flour will turn a golden brown, be careful not to let it burn! Gradually add the milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155 degrees. Add Italian cheese blend and Ranch seasoning, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.
6. Spoon mixture into a 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-jack cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.
Makes 8 servings

Adapted from Cooking Light

I call it Macaroni

I used leftover Turkey. Reheating the turkey in the bacon drippings really added a lot of bacon flavor!

All mixed up and ready for the baking dish

Bacon and cheese are so GOOD together!

Hot and Gooey, can't wait to try it.

The Results...
We all agreed this was tasty.  My husband thought that this is a great way to use extra turkey.  We roasted a 22 pound turkey on New Year's Day.  That's why we used cooked turkey in this recipe. Rotisserie chicken should work, too.  The original recipe asks for uncooked, skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  So, cooked or uncooked chicken, either one will work in this recipe.

My toddler especially loved this dish.  She loves pasta, cheese and bacon, so I wasn't too surprised.  She even ate seconds!

I could tell that this is lighter than regular Mac n Cheese.  It wasn't as rich and creamy, but it was still flavorful.  I was surprised how much flavor just 4 pieces of bacon gave to this whole dish.  The Ranch flavor was mild, but it was there.  Overall, a good dish and my family would be happy if I make it again.


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