Mac n Cheese Carbonara

Many years ago, mac n cheese was something that came in a box - a cheap, easy, and quick meal.  Then one day, I had some life changing popcorn.  Hold on, I will get to the mac n cheese. A friend brought popcorn to work, it was buttery and cheesy and homemade.  It was delish, and so I asked him how he made it.  He said, "you know the cheese powder that comes in the mac n cheese boxes?". Well of course I do and then he told me that he uses that cheese to make his popcorn.  But wait, what do you do with the pasta?  You make mac n cheese but use REAL cheese.........mind blown, life forever changed.  From that day on, I have only made mac n cheese using real cheese.  In fact my son had no idea what the powdered cheese even tasted like, to him, it was always made with real, gooey, yummy cheese.  Another favorite meal in our house is a Shrimp Carbonara, so I decided to combine the two and make a cheap, easy and quick meal of mac n cheese carbonara.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 to 6 slices of bacon
1 box of mac n cheese
4 tbsp. butter (2 tbsp. solid and 2 tbsp. melted)
1/3 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheese (what ever kind you prefer; cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella or a blend)
2 cups frozen peas
1 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425.  On a cookie sheet with sides, lay out the bacon slices (if you want easy clean up, line the pan with aluminium foil).  Bake the bacon for 18 to 20 minutes or until crispy.  While the bacon is baking, cook the noodles according to the box's directions.  Once the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot.  Add the solid butter and milk, stir until butter is melted.  Stir in 1/2 a cup of cheese and stir until melted, repeat until all the cheese has been added.  Then stir in the peas (don't thaw ahead of time).

The bacon should be done, removed from the oven, and cool enough to chop into bite sized pieces. DO NOT turn off the oven when you remove the bacon.  Add the bacon to the pasta.  Take all the pasta and put into an oven safe dish like a 9X13 inch pyrex pan or a cast iron pan.  Cover the pasta with the bread crumbs and drizzle with the melted butter. Put the pasta in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Then change the oven from bake to broil on medium high and brown the top of the pasta, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Please watch this as it can go from brown to burnt quite quickly.

Remove and enjoy! Makes about 5 servings.

Price break down: Prices bases on Albertson's
Bacon - $1.49 (1/2 pound)
Box of Mac n Cheese - $.89
Butter - $.88 (1/2 pound bought, 1/2 stick used) - $.22
Milk - $1.49 (quart) $.12 for 1/3 cup
Shredded Cheese - $2.99 
Frozen peas - $1.25
Bread crumbs - $1.99 (using about 1/2 of this) - $.99

Total is $7.95 and comes to $1.59 per serving.

Several of these prices are based on buying the store brand and looking for items that were on sale.

Don't forget to use the cheese packet to make some super yummy popcorn, you already have the butter so all you need is the popcorn.