Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt #BundtBakers

This bacon broccoli mac and cheese Bundt is a delicious main course made with a wonderful cheesy sauce that includes heavy cream, extra sharp cheddar and five whole eggs.

I’m not sure why I did but when I decided to host this month’s Bundt Bakers event, I chose cheese as the main ingredient. Cheese means that both sweet and savory bakes are an option! This could not have come at a better time.

Like the rest of the world, we’ve been self isolating for several weeks because of the novel coronavirus. We don’t eat a lot of sweets so I really wanted to make something we would eat for a main course, rather than a dessert. Thank God for cheese.

Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt

This Bundt is much more than just baking your usual mac and cheese in a Bundt pan. The bacon, broccoli and eggs make this a full meal. Leftovers, if you should be so fortunate as to have any, are just as delicious the next day.

Ingredients
12 oz or 340g large elbow macaroni
5 1/3 oz or 150g small broccoli florets (no stems –about 1/2 small crown)
12 oz or 340g (7-8 slices) thick cut bacon
1/4 cup or 56g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the Bundt pan
1/3 cup or 41g flour, plus more for flouring the Bundt pan
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups or 360ml milk (I used 2 percent fat)
1/2 cup or 120ml heavy cream
12 oz or 340g extra sharp cheddar cheese (or a combo of your favorite cheeses), grated
1 teaspoon mustard powder (I use Colman’s)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt

While this recipe calls for only broccoli florets, don’t discard the stems after you’ve cut off the little florets. They are not only edible once you trim the hard outer stalk, they are delicious in a salad.

Method
Thoroughly grease and flour your 12-cup Bundt pan. I suggest using a classic design since we are baking with cheese, which can tend to stick. Bundt pans with too many nooks and crannies would be asking for trouble.

Cook your elbow macaroni in salted boiling water, according to the package instructions. Add in the broccoli florets for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain the macaroni and broccoli florets and rinse with cool water. Set aside in the colander to drain completely.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into pieces and fry them in a skillet until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels.

Remove all but 1/4 cup or 60ml of the bacon fat and save in a clean jar for future recipes.

Add the butter to the skillet and once it has melted, Add in the flour and stir to create a light roux without any lumps.

Add in the onion and garlic and sauté till they are softened and translucent.

Turn the heat under your skillet right down to simmer and whisk the milk and cream into the roux.

Raise the flame a little and cook, whisking all the while, until the sauce thickens. This takes just a few minutes. You know you have the right thickness when a spatula pulled through it leaves a brief show of pan, then the sauce flows right back in.

Toss the mustard powder, smoked paprika and cayenne with the grated cheese then add it to the white sauce.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir until the cheese is melted. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the 5 eggs with salt.

Whisk your cooling cheese sauce into the eggs a tablespoon or two at a time, until it’s all mixed in.
You don’t want to add all of the warm cheese sauce at once since the heat will cook the eggs and you’ll end up with eggy lumps. No one wants that.

Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared Bundt pan with some of the bacon bits.

Stir the cooled macaroni, broccoli and the rest of the bacon into the egg/cheese sauce mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the Bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes in your preheated oven.

Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then loosen the sides and around the center hole with a wooden skewer. Invert on a plate to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely Bundts with cheese!

• Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Cream Cheese Swirl Coffee Cake from Patyco Candybar
• Easy Peasy Cheesy Pull Apart Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mascarpone Lemon Cud Bundt Cake from Nunca es Demasiado Dulce
• Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bundtlettes from Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Bundt from Sweet Sensations

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page. c

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Russian Kulich - Easter Bread #BreadBakers

The traditional Russian kulich is baked in multiplies for family gatherings to celebrate Easter and is often eaten on Easter Monday as picnic fare. It's a lovely sweet bread made with either raisins or chocolate chips.

This month our Bread Bakers host is Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla and she chose international Easter breads for our theme. I must confess that I really didn’t pay attention to whether the second Tuesday fell before or after Easter because I loved the theme so much.

Turns out that it is after Easter for those of us who follow the Gregorian (new) calendar, which is much of the western world. For those who follow the Julian (old) calendar, we are right on time with Easter bread recipes, as they will celebrate next Sunday.

That said, as Camilla rightly pointed out, most of us all over the world are still staying home to stay safe so many family Easter celebrations have been postponed until we can all be together. If that’s you, dear reader, please bookmark or pin your favorite recipes from our list, found below my recipe.

Russian Kulich - Easter Bread

This recipe is adapted from several I found online. Traditionally, Russian kulich would be baked with raisins instead of chocolate chips, but I did find one recipe by an actual baker with a Russian grandma who added chocolate, so I am feeling pretty good about my choice. I’ll be honest. My daughter is home and she is not a fan of raisins. I wanted to bake sweet bread that she would eat!

Ingredients
For the kulich:
1/2 cup or 120ml warm milk (I used 2% milk)
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 whole egg, room temp
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup or 56g butter, melted and cooled
good pinch salt
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups or 281g all-purpose flour
3/4 cup or 140g raisins or for a less traditional bread, substitute chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chocolate.)

To bake the kulich:
2 1-lb coffee cans
parchment paper
butter

For the glaze:
1/2 cup or g 62 icing sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon or orange juice

Optional to decorate: colored sprinkles

Method
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the warm milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside to prove. The yeast should start to get a little foamy on top.

Whisk in the egg and egg yolk, melted butter, sour cream, salt and vanilla.

Whisk in half of the flour. Your batter will be very thick, mounding briefly when you let it drip off the whisk back into the bowl.

Cover the bowl with cling film and let it rise in a warm place, ideally 100°F or 39°C for about an hour. I achieve this by filling a larger bowl with hot water from the sink and set the batter bowl in it. Occasionally check the temperature and add more hot water as needed.

Using a wooden spoon or a stiff spatula, add the rest of the flour a little at a time.

The dough will be quite soft. Stir in the raisins or chocolate chips. Cover and let dough rise another hour in a warm place, again ideally at 100˚F or 38°C. Use the hot water bowl trick again for best results.

Butter your clean coffee cans then line them with baking parchment.

Spoon the dough into the two prepared coffee cans, trying not to mix it too much. We want to keep as many of the bubbles in the dough as possible. Mine were filled about halfway, which is hard to see in this photo. Trust me.

Again, leave the dough to rise uncovered in a warm place for an additional hour or until the coffee cans are almost full. I put my two cans back in the big bowl and added more hot tap water then covered the bowl with cling film and a folded towel.

If you do this, do be careful getting them out of the bowl when you are ready to bake. One of mine tipped over a bit as I tried to get them out and I lost some height on the rise.

Towards the end of the hour rising time, preheat your oven to 350˚F or 180°C.

Bake the kulich for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown. If they start browning too quickly, you can cover the tops with foil.

Cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack then gently loosen the edges with a knife and turn the kulich out of the coffee cans. Leave them to cool completely, bottom side down on the wire rack.

To make the glaze, stir just enough of the lemon or orange juice into the powdered sugar to get a drizzling consistency. Pour the glaze over each cooled kulich. Top with sprinkles, if desired.

Enjoy!



Check all the lovely Easter breads from around the world! If you don't bake one this month, you'll be glad to have the recipes for another special occasion. Many thanks to Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for hosting this month!

• Choereg (Armenian Easter Bread) by Making Miracles
• Easy Glazed Baked Donuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Folar da Páscoa, a Less-Than-Traditional Version by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• German Osterbrot Easter Bread by Ambrosia
• Hot Cross Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Polish Babka by A Messy Kitchen
• Kalach (Hungarian Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
• Kozunak (Bulgarian Easter Bread) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Russian Kulich - Easter Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Hot Cross Buns by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Ukrainian Paska by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Russian Kulich Easter Bread!

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Tomato Salad Topped Baked Spinach Frittata

This tomato salad topped baked spinach frittata is a delicious combination of richness from the eggs, ham and cheese and the sharp sweetness of the tomatoes with herbs. It makes a wonderful brunch, lunch or dinner dish!

Frittatas can be made on your stovetop in a skillet or baked in the oven. I created this one a while back when we were trying a low carb diet. I was craving quiche but crust was, of course, not on the plan. This frittata is basically a crustless quiche with a fancy Italian name.

You can adapt this recipe to use different cooked veggies or meat instead of the spinach and ham. Or change up the cheddar for your favorite semi-hard flavorful cheese. It’s all good.

Here’s a question for you: Am I the only one who buys ham that the family eats for two or three days and then abandons it? What do you do with it? I pop it in the freezer when it’s still in date and, while you cannot thaw it and still make decent sandwiches, it is perfect for quiche or omelets.

Tomato Salad Topped Baked Spinach Frittata

This recipe was inspired by a photo I saw in delicious.uk magazine for a ricotta tart. The mixed tomato salad that topped the tart was so pretty! Mine doesn’t have the green tomatoes because I couldn’t find any but I’m sure it is just as tasty.

Ingredients
For the frittata:
3 ounces or 85g sliced ham
2 ounces or 55g frozen spinach
4 large eggs
3/4 cup or 180ml cream
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
4 1/2 ounces or 125g sharp cheddar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
several good grinds of black pepper

To butter the baking dish or pan:
1 tablespoon butter

For baked topping:
2 oz or 57g sharp cheddar
Small handful green onion tops, chopped

For the herby salad:
1 lb or 450g mixed tomatoes, ripe but firm
Herbs of your choice  - I used a mix of flat-leaf parsley, tarragon and basil
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Drizzle white balsamic
Good pinch flaky sea salt
Few generous grinds of black pepper

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and liberally butter your 9 in or 23cm quiche pan or baking dish.

Fry the chopped ham in a nonstick pan until it dries out a little and gets some browned crispy place. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Thaw your spinach, then drain it and squeeze it as dry as possible.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and milk. Stir in spinach and chopped basil.

 Next add the grated cheese, ham, sea salt and black pepper. Stir until well combined.

Pour the mixture into your buttered pan or dish.

Put it in the preheated oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350°F. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until it is almost set.

Remove the frittata from the oven and sprinkle on the topping cheese and green onions.

Return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is browning and the frittata is set.

Meanwhile, slice your large tomato and set the slices on a paper towel to dry them a little. Halve the smaller tomatoes and mix them with the other salad ingredients.

When the frittata is baked, remove it from the oven and leave to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before topping it first with the sliced tomatoes.

 Finally, top with the dressed tomato salad.

Slice to serve. Enjoy!

This month my Baking Blogger friends are sharing recipes with herbs. Check out the delicious recipes below! Many thanks to our group organizer and host, Sue of Palatable Pastime for all of her behind-the-scenes work.

• Baked Spaghetti with Sausage and Meatballs from Palatable Pastime
• Ham and Herbed Potatoes Au Gratin from Making Miracles
• Herb Roasted Chickpeas from Cook with Renu
• Herbed Chicken with Charred Romaine Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• No Knead Herb Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oven-Braised Rabbit with Herbed Dumplings from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Quiche Lorraine with Herbs from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Sage and Caramelized Onion Sourdough Bread from Caroline's Cooking
• Rosemary & Garlic Baked Potato With Sour Cream from Sneha's Recipe
• Tomato Salad Topped Baked Spinach Frittata from Food Lust People Love

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

Pin this Tomato Salad Topped Baked Spinach Frittata! 

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