Herbed and Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

• 12 ounces elbow macaroni
• 3 Morningstar Farms veggie bacon strips (or any bacon substitute)
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cook macaroni, drain and set aside in another bowl.

2. 2

   While pasta is cooking, fry veggie bacon strips ‘til crisp, then chop into small pieces.

3. 3

   In the warm pasta pot, add whipping cream, cream cheese, half of the shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons of the butter, herbs, garlic salt, onions and the bacon strips.

4. 4

   Stir until melted and blended well, then mix with the pasta.

5. 5

   Transfer macaroni and cheese into a baking dish and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

6. 6

   In small bowl, combine the rest of the melted butter with the breadcrumbs, then sprinkle over mac and cheese.

7. 7

   Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

8. 8

   Tips: Any fragrant herbs would be good in this recipe. If you’d like to use fresh ones, use a ¼ cup of each. If you’re willing to shell out the extra bucks for the brie like the original recipe calls for, you can replace a half cup of it for the whipping cream. Also, I used garlic salt to be quick, but fresh garlic and some sea salt would work well.