Breakfast Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• about 16 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled, reserve 3-4 Tbsp of the fat
• 2 cups dry elbow pasta
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
•  2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 medium or large eggs, at room temperature
• black pepper

Instructions Set oven to 375F Cook the pasta in lots of well salted water just to the al dente stage. Drain and toss with the reserved bacon fat. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for about a minute, and then slowly pour in the milk, stirring or whisking constantly to combine all the flour into the milk. Continue heating and stirring until the mixture thickens, this will happen just as the milk is getting to the boiling point. Take the pan off the heat and add the cheese, a little at a time, stirring to melt. Add the cooked pasta and half the bacon crumbles to the sauce, tossing to combine well. Divide the mixture between 4 oven safe bowls. Make an indentation in the center of each bowl with the back of a large spoon for the egg. Crack an egg into each . Put the bowls on a baking sheet and bake until the eggs are just set, about 20 minutes or so, depending on how you like our egg done. Turn up the heat to 400F if your egg is slow to set. Grind some fresh black pepper over each bowl, and scatter the rest of the crumbled bacon around the egg just before serving.