“Sponsored post on behalf on Tyson Foods, Inc. The opinions and text are all mine.”
Summer break is nearly over! I cannot believe it. The summer is half over and pretty soon we are going to be singing the back to school blues lol. We are intent on enjoying every bit of the summer around here, even if that means just hanging out catching fire flies at night, or lightning bugs as I call them.
I think life gets busy, and we get caught up in the mundane. Too often our lives are consumed by the mundane and the repetitive nature of life. It hard to see the forest because of the trees, so to speak. We lost sight of the big picture, and it happens to all of us. Life can get us down. But just taking that time away, having just a little break can make all the difference. We can start appreciating the uniqueness of every leaf and the life teeming within the trees, and appreciating your surroundings. For me this is what it’s like to get together with family and friends in the summer.
Nothing brings everyone together like food. As the resident foodies, we are always expected to bring something unique, crowd pleasing and delicious. Sometimes that can be a tall order, but I love it, I really do. I am passionate about a few things in life, and cooking just seems to put many of those passions together. There are times that you can put together a recipe and it will completely fail, and there are times it will soar. Sometimes what looks good on paper and planning does not pan out, but you just have to get in the weeds and try to work it out.
When I am prepping and planning for a get together I plan go-tos that have worked time and time again, and a few little surprises. Whenever I am planning a gathering, I always include Jimmy Dean® products. Recently while shopping at Walmart I came across a new product by Jimmy Dean®, and that was bacon. Yes you read that correctly, Jimmy Dean® makes bacon now y’all. What?!
I think we all know and love Jimmy Dean® for sausage, and its great quality every time. I picked up the package of bacon, and I had no doubt that the quality of the bacon would be anything less than the premium quality I have come to expect from Jimmy Dean®. I had a recipe come to mind almost immediately, Bacon Mac and Cheese cups. I think when people go to BBQ’s they like to eat with their hands. So I try to have some items that are self-contained and I knew these would fit the bill. I purchased some other ingredients that I needed and headed home.
I started the recipe by taking my regular muffin tin and lining each opening with a bacon strip and placing it in the oven at 350 to bake and crisp up for 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile in a saucepan I made a roux, added cheese, and salt and pepper. To that I mixed in cooked pasta noodles. I pulled the bacon out of the oven and added the mac and cheese mixture to it. I then topped each on with a deseeded jalapeño ring to the tops and placed back in the oven for 10 minutes.
These Bacon Mac and Cheese cups were amazing!! The Jimmy Dean® bacon was a premium quality that I have come to expect from the brand, and it made this recipe soar. These did not last long. Head on over to Walmart and pick up some Jimmy Dean® Premium bacon.
Ingredients:
12 strips of Jimmy Dean® Bacon
3 cups of milk
1/2 stick of butter
2 tbs of flour
1 1/2 cups of cheddar
1 cup of mozzarella
pinch of paprika
1lbs of cooked pasta noodles
sliced jalapeno
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Place one strip of bacon in each opening of muffin tin. Place in the oven to cook for 20-25 minutes or until crisp. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan melt 1/2 stick of butter, and add in 2 tbs of flour. When flour is completely mixed in allow to simmer for 1 minute. Add in milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add in salt and pepper to taste and cheeses. Cook until cheese are completely melted and combined. Stir in cooked pasta, and add to the bacon rings in muffin tin. Top with sliced jalapeño and cook for an additional 10 minutes at 350. Enjoy!
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