Mac & Cheese Casserole

[mos]

Mac & Cheese Casserole
onion, finely diced
1 tsp each of freshly chopped thyme & sage
23-oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb of large macaroni noodles, cooked
16-oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 bunch of black/lacinato kale, blanched & chopped
5 strips of cooked bacon, roughly chopped
vegetable oil
kosher salt
cracked pepper
For the herbed breadcrumbs:
1 tbs unsalted butter
½ cup Japanese style panko bread crumbs
1 tsp each of freshly chopped thyme & Italian parsley
1/4 tsp kosher salt
fresh pepper
Remove the center stalks from the kale and blanch the leaves in salted boiling water for 90 sec. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl, remove the kale from the pot and submerge in cold water for 1 min. Squeeze all the water out of the kale, finely chop it, and set it aside.Cook the bacon on a sheet tray in a 400° oven for roughly 15 min until crispy. Roughly chop and set aside. Boil the macaroni noodles in salted boiling water, drain and set aside.
Make the herbed bread crumbs by melting the butter in a small non-stick pan and adding the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture is golden brown
Begin cooking by pre-heating a large pot over medium-high heat with 2 tbs of veggie oil. Add the onions, sage, thyme, along with ½ tsp of kosher salt and a pinch of pepper. Cook for 5 min stirring often. Take the pot off the heat and add the cream of mushroom soup, mix well. Splash a little bit of water inside the can and pour it in the pot. Add the cooked macaroni noodles and mix to combine. Add the cheddar cheese, chopped kale, bacon, and mix well. Taste the mixture, it might need another tsp of salt.
Pre-heat the broiler to high and spray a little non-stick spray in an 8×12 baking dish. Transfer the mac and cheese mixture to the baking dish and broil for 5 min until the top is nicely browned. Make sure it doesn’t burn.
Take out of the oven and top it with the herbed bread crumbs and some crumbled crispy kale leaves. This casserole can be made hours ahead of time, when ready to serve, pop it under the broiler and then finish with the toppings. Serves 8-10

[lmitchell]

I will definitely have to try this one. Just switch out the cream of mushroom soup (allergic) for another and it would be good to go.

[mos]

lmitchell…a good substitute would be cream of celery, onion, or potato. I’ve made this with all three as substitutes when I didn’t have the cream of mushroom on hand. It’s just my personal favorite for the cream of mushroom;-D All of the substitutions turn out well and tasty!

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