Mix It Up Monday has new meaning this week.

Tracey and I are beginning to think that we might need to redefine what a “normal schedule” is for us.  As hard as we work to plan our weekly posts and then execute that plan, it doesn’t seem to be working at all these days.  And we all know what they say about doing the same thing over and over expecting different results…

We are both in the midst of new babies in our world.  Don’t jump to conclusions!  I have a new grandson and Tracey has a litter of feral kittens at her house.  You’d think, since neither of us is solely responsible for the care of said babies, our lives wouldn’t be so disrupted by the newborn goings on, but they have been.  I was working to get through my final week of school last week while being distracted by our newest family member and Tracey has been working to confine the kitty population in her neighborhod and get them to an agency that will spay and neuter so that she doesn’t have more babies at her house.  And then there is her human boy, whose care she is responsible for.  I am only responsible for fur babies on a daily basis.

Even with all of the goings on, I have actually been cooking real meals  over the past week, though I haven’t done any baking.  I’ve done “necessary” cooking but not “fun” baking.  Unfortunarely, neither of us has any baked goodies to share with you this week.  In lieu of that, however, I am going to share my newest favorite recipe.

On Friday we went to spend a few hours with our new grand baby.  Since my daughter is recovering from a C-section and is still adjusting to the lack of sleep that comes with having a nursing newborn, I offered to bring lunch for us so she didn’t have to worry about playing hostess.  My daughter lives about 45 minutes from us – close in travel time, but far away enough that deciding what type of meal might make the trip best required a little bit of thought.  I decided that some kind of casserole would be best because that would also result in leftovers enough for at least another meal for her family.

A few months ago, I made the Bacon White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese recipe from the February/March 2019 issue of Allrecipes magazine.  This was by far the tastiest macaroni and cheese I have ever had! The addition of pesto takes the standard mac and cheese flavor up several notches.

My previous favorite mac and cheese recipe is Michelle Obama’s Mac and Cheese recipe that uses pureed cauliflower instead of the traditional roux for its cheese sauce.  This link has an adaptation of that recipe, which is amazing.  As a side note, cauliflower may be the most underappreciated vegtable there is, but that’s another story for another post!  When I have a chance, I want to try merging these two recipes…use the cauliflower base, but add the pesto.  I see no reason why it won’t work, no reason why the result won’t be macaroni and cheese perfection!

Though bacon is the first word in the title of this Bacon White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese, the bacon can be omitted without sacrficing the overall flavor of the mac and cheese.  It can easily and successfully be made as a vegetarian meal.  I usually make the recipe half with bacon and half without.

If you are a mac and cheese fan or a pesto fan, or, even better, a fan a both, I strongly recommend giving this recipe a try.  It is great for a family meal or a make-ahead dish for a potluck kind of event.  I’m positive that you wont be disappointed.

Bacon White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese