I’ve mentioned before that since I moved (it’s been a month already) I’ve been an aggressive meal planner. It’s working out really well: we don’t waste food, I don’t buy unnecessary things at the grocery store for the most part and we all know what to expect during the week making meal time much less stressful.

I have a pile of recipe magazines, books and my recipe binder that I pour over every week to find something new, delicious and easy to make. Yesterday’s dinner? BLT Mac n’ Cheese, courtesy of Rachel Ray.

Mac n’ Cheese ingredients:

* 4 slices bacon, cut into one inch pieces (I’d recommend 5-7 slices, especially if you have men who will be eating it)
* 12 ounces fusilli or rotini pasta
* 2 1/4 cups milk ( 2% recommended)
* 6 ounces softened cream cheese
* 2 cups finely shredded orange cheddar cheese
* 6 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes quartered
* Salt and pepper to taste

Mac n’ Cheese instuctions:

* Preheat the oven to 375°F.
* In large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain.
* Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until *almost al dente* and drain.
* In the same pot, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the cream cheese until blended.
* Stir in the cheddar cheese until melted (confession: I added about another half cup of cheddar cheese and I would recommend doing that; makes the sauce a bit creamier/thicker)
* Now add the pasta, bacon and tomatoes; stir until blended.
* Taste! Add salt and pepper as needed
* Transfer to a 9×13 inch casserole dish and back until heated through about 20 minutes
* Nora’s Addition: Take out about 5 minutes before done and sprinkle some salt/pepper and a small handful of cheese on the top. Continue to bake for remaining five minutes

Now for the “L” part of the BLT Mac n’ cheese, a mini homemade salad:

* 1/4 cup plain yogurt
* 1 tbsp apple cidar vinegar
* 1 small head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced

The “L” Instructions:

* In a large bowl, combine the yogurt & vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lettuce and toss to coat. Serve the salad with the pasta.

(I didn’t make the salad because Knight hates salad and all things lettuce, so I made myself some veggies instead since I can’t eat an entire head of romaine lettuce before it goes bad.)

Here’s the final mac n’ cheese product (no other pictures to share cause Knight and I were too busy chowing down to take photos of our plates):

Verdict: Five Stars. Seriously. Perfectly filling, awesome blend of flavors in one dish and really easy to make. Definitely going into the recipe bank and will be reprised in the coming weeks/months! Highly Recommend.

Any recipes you’ve tried lately that I must try?