Secret Number One

I love to cook. And lately, I have been working on Mac and Cheese. Last night I made some, and it came out quite good. Suzanne even took some to work today for lunch, which is high praise in deed. I didn't use a recipe and not too many seasonings so I was actually a bit baffled as to why it was so good. Here's the technique that I used.

Cook two strips of bacon in a pan. (I intended to add them to the dish but forgot to, so go ahead and eat them if you wish.) To the bacon drippings, brown two chicken breasts chopped in small pieces. Remove the chicken and in the same pan, cook a large handful of baby portobello mushrooms and some leftover asparagus that i'm sure you have laying around the kitchen.

In the mean time, make a béchamel sauce with butter, flour half and half. Season with salt and pepper and some nutmeg. Add this to some cooked elbow macaroni, and then add the chicken, mushrooms and asparagus. Stir in a generous supply of grated medium cheddar, put in a baking dish, cover with grated parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

And now for the secret...... It's the bacon drippings! I cooked everything in the bacon drippings! Really. It was very good. Try it.

Next week, secret number two.