Green-Chile-and-Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

My picky eater just about flipped over backwards with this meal, which is super shocking considering what was put into it. Tomatoes, hot peppers, three different kinds of cheese, and yet, it went over better than I thought!

  Simple quick meal as well, done on the stove top in one pan mostly. I did this in less than forty minutes, serves about 8-10 so plenty of left overs to have later. Instead of bacon slices I used the crumbled bacon that Hormel has that we use for salads.

Green-Chile-and-Bacon Macaroni and Cheese (Found from Taste of The South)
Ingredients

6 slices bacon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded Pepper jack cheese
2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 pound piccolini pasta, cooked according to package directions
Directions

1.In a large Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from pan, and reserve. Drain bacon fat from pan, reserving 3 tablespoons.
2.Return Dutch oven to medium heat. Add reserved bacon fat and flour, whisking well to combine. Cook until thickened, about 2- 3 minutes. Add milk to flour, whisking well;  Cook, whisking often, until thickened, about 5 -6 minutes. Add salt and white pepper to milk mixture, whisking well. Add cheeses to milk mixture, stirring well. Add tomatoes , green chiles, and cooked pasta to cheese mixture, stirring to combine. Cook until heated through.
3.Chop reserved bacon. Sprinkle over pasta mixture, stirring well to combine.

Enjoy!