Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese

Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese

Prep Time: 25 minutes. Start to Finish: 45 minutes. Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni noodles

4 slices bacon

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into ½ inch pieces

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoons flour

1 ½ cups fat-free milk

1/3 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup

¾ cup shredded Italian cheese blend

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dill weed

1/8 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

½ cup shredded Colby jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Cook the pasta according to desired doneness. Cook bacon until crisp and remove from pan reserving drippings in the pan. Chop the bacon and add the chicken to the pan and cook until done

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk gradually add milk mixture to sauce pan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick; remove from heat and let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155 degrees. Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill weed and salt stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken

Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and Colby jack cheese and bake in oven till cheese is melted. Serve warm