Loaded Baked Potato Mac & Cheese

The potato. It’s the king of all foods. All of your nutrition needed in one big bulbous vegetable. Could you make it better? Perhaps with jalapeno? Or bacon? OR CHEESE? I partnered with Chateau Dumplings to produce this over the top, indulgent dish. I took my basic macaroni and cheese recipe and took it up a notch by using mini potato dumplings (like gnocchi!) instead of noodles and jazzing it up with bacon, jalapeno, and onion. The end result came out to be this insane loaded baked potato casserole that would surely please any crowd. It came out just as insanely good as I imagined, and it’s something that I think Guy Fieri would be proud of. Check it out!

Loaded Baked Potato Mac & Cheese
Calories per serving: 647
Servings: 6
Fat: 29.2
Carbs: 63.1
Protein: 35.2

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 3 cups of 2% milk
• 1 tsp of salt
• 3 tbsp of flour
• 1 tsp of ground mustard
• 3 tbsp of butter
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup of onion, grated
• 8 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 package of Chateau Mini Potato Dumplings
  For the toppings:
• 8 slices of bacon
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• 1.5 tbsp of brown sugar
• a dash of pepper (to taste)
• a dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt down your shredded onions with the butter in a large stock pot. Add in your spices, and then subsequently add in your flour, created a roux. It should look like a brown paste, but be sure not to burn it.
3. Add your milk to the roux and whisk away! Don’t leave it alone too long, otherwise it will curdle, but you want to make sure the roux combines with the milk and creates a rich, creamy sauce.
4. Continuing whisking away your milk until it’s thicker and you see bubbles. Once this happens, add 5 cups of your cheese to the mixture.
5. Put your raw dumplings in a casserole dish. Make sure they are raw, otherwise they will turn out gummy. Stir in your cheese sauce until evenly dispersed.
6. Add remaining cheese on top of your dumplings and cheese. Stick in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until it bubbles and has a crispy top!
7. While your casserole is cooking, take your strips of bacon onto a sheet pan. Add brown sugar, cayenne, and pepper to the bacon. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy. Once your bacon is done, dice into small pieces and set aside.
8. Once your casserole is nice and bubbly, remove from the oven and admire.
9. Add your bacon and jalapeno to the bubbly casserole and serve immediately (probably with a side salad haha!)