Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon

Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon is a yummy all in one meal! Creamy macaroni and cheese with bits of flavorful ham and bacon packed in makes for a tasty dinner.

This recipe makes for a crowd, so for my family, we make once, and are able to enjoy some leftovers.

Every year, the kids show a couple pigs in as part of their 4-H experience. They enjoy taking care of their pigs from early Spring until later Summer! Every day is morning and evening chores and working with them to prepare for show day at our county fair. They love to give them marshmallows for a treat.

We always feed one out to have processed after fair season for ourselves, to have a freezer full of different cuts of pork.

We like to cook a large smoked, bone-in ham in the slow cooker . With the large ham, we can use can enjoy it for several meals. We generally have the ham for dinner the evening its cooked in the crock pot, then any leftovers are fun to mix into other meals, like this Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon.

I am a big fan of cooking with cast iron and I am loving this new large cast iron skillet! It is great for making large meals.

This is a great recipe to use leftover ham. After you have enjoyed the ham after it is initially cooked, its nice to use any leftovers to incorporate into other meals. This Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon is a family favorite!! Including all 4 of our kiddos!! Plus it comes together pretty easily and quick! Win Win!!

Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon 

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon Ingredients

3 cups elbow macaroni 

2 cups of ham, cubed

1/2 cup bacon, cooked and chopped - about 4 slices of bacon

3 tbsp canola oil

2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1 tsp Dijon Mustard 

Skillet Mac & Cheese with Ham and Bacon Directions

1. Add the salt and water to a large pan and bring to a boil. Add the elbow macaroni pasta to the large pot and cook, uncovered, for 1 minute less that the instructions on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water when draining the pasta. 

2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the ham and bacon. Cook the bacon and chop or crumble to pieces and set aside. Cut the cooked ham into cubed pieces and set aside. You can also used precooked diced ham. 

3. Preheat the skillet over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the oil to the skillet to heat up. Then add the flour and whisk it into the oil until there are no lumps and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. 

4. Slowly whisk in the milk, cream, cream cheese, and Dijon mustard. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then let it cook until it is slightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat. 

5. Slowly whisk in the cheddar and Parmesan cheeses, working in batches, until they are fully melted. 

6. Add in the reserved pasta water and whisk it in to think out the sauce some. 

7. Add in the prepared cooked ham and bacon. Stir the meat into the pasta so it is blended in well. 

8. Top with panko breadcrumbs and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are lighly toasted.


Other pork recipes from the Backroad:

Instant Pot Ham and Beans 

BLT Pasta Salad 

Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops 

Country Quiche 

Crock Pot Cowboy Beans 

This post is sponsored by Indiana Pork, but my 

thoughts/opinions are always 100% my own.

Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops

Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops are a perfect simple summer dinner.  Tossed in a simple herb marinate these pork chops are full of flavor and delicious served with your favorite sides.

During the summer months, and even into fall, we are always looking forward to cooking out on our firepit grill. We love grilling anything for meals, steak, burgers, hot dogs, vegetables, bacon, you name it....even toast! Grilling out on the firepit grill is something that we always do while camping, so we also enjoy that when we are at home too.

We have our firepit grill in our back yard, some nights we sit out around the fire as a family and toast marshmallows, or just sit and relax. Other nights we have the fire going, and put our meat on the grill, and work outside, all the kids are outside playing and we keep check on the meat on the grill. It's just a nice time to all be outside!

No worries, these Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops can be made on a standard grill too!! Any grill will do.

For these Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops, you start with a little prep chopping the delicious herbs; parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Also mincing the garlic. Then combine them all together with the oil.

Place the pork chops in a 9x13 baking dish and coat each side with the herb/garlic mix and let them marinate for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, scrape off the big chunks of herbs and garlic.

Place on the grill and cook for approximately 30 minutes, flipping occassionally to cook both sides evenly. When they are done, let them rest for 10 minutes before serving and cutting, so they stay nice and juicy.

These Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops are flavorful and juicy and pair great with a variety of sides for a delicious summer grilled meal.

Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Instructions for Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops

1/4 cup olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced 

4 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley 

1 Tbsp finely chopped sage leaves

2 Tbsp finely chopped thyme 

1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary

6 pork chops 

Directions for Grilled Herb and Garlic Pork Chops 

1. Finely chop the parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary and add all to a medium bowl and combine all together. 

2. Mince the garlic and add to the bowl of herbs. Then add the olive oil and mix until well combined together. 

3. Place pork chops in a casserole dish in one later and spoon the marinade evenly over each pork chop. Flip pork chops over and repeat on the other side with the remaining marinade. 

4. Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Before placing on the grill to cook, scrape off all the big chunks of herbs and garlic. 

5. Cook over grill or fire for approximately 30 minutes, flipping intermittently, to cook evenly on both sides. Cook until the internal temperature of the pork chop is 145F. 

6. Let pork chops rest for 10 minutes. Serve with your favorites sides and enjoy.

This post is sponsored by the Glass Barn, Indiana Soybean and Corn Farmers but all thoughts and opinions are my own