Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese

DHalaby73

A tablespoon of flour stabilizes the milk so that you can bring the sauce to a boil. The combination of onion and garlic powders plus fresh dill creates a flavor similar to ranch dressing.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups)

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1 slice applewood-smoked bacon
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup condensed 45% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded six-cheese Italian blend (such as Sargento)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded colby-Jack cheese
Preparation
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. 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.

3. Melt butter 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.

4. Preheat broiler.

5. 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.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
497
Fat:
17g (sat 9.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:
33.3g
Carbohydrate:
51.7g
Fiber:
2g
Cholesterol:
74mg
Iron:
2.4mg
Sodium:
767mg
Calcium:
368mg

Aeriel

Sounds good and like something my family would like. Marking for later!

inskydiamonds

Sounds delicious! This is getting added to my list of things to make.

motoxmom1

Sounds really good but high in calories!

bacardigirl

Sounds yummy..you can't go wrong with pasta, bacon and cheese!!!

doccaroo

I love bacon recipes

ymamyma

bump!!

Larrys_fitness

Yum, that sounds so good.

RoadDog

Sounds delicious and has about the same caloric intake and nutritional value as the KFC Double Down.

DHalaby73

you can substitute some of the ingredients for low fat versions I do it in a lot of things I cook...

DHalaby73

Not to mention here's the nutritional value in the KFC Double down huge difference from what I posted...

Double Down with Grilled Filet
Serving size:253
Calories: 480
Calories from fat:220
Total fat:25
Saturated fat:9
Trans fat:0
Cholesterol:180
Sodium:1760
Carbs:4
Dietary fiber:0
Sugars:2
Protein:60

And regular

Double Down with OR Filet
Serving Size:241
Calories:540
Calories from fat:290
Total fat:32
Sat.fat:10
Trans.fat:0.5
Cholesterol:145
Sodium:1380
Carbs:11
Dietary fiber:1
Sugar:1
Protein:53