Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese

It’s been rainy and cold here. Comfort food was a must. Ken wanted macaroni and cheese, but it had to be extra cheesy with a crunchy topping. Patti said no problem and added bacon and broccoli to make it tastier and a bit healthy. Our Green Mountain Grill/Smoker added extra flavor along with their Green Mountain “Sizzle Seasoning Blend”. Perfect!

Patti and I have set one night a week just for us. It’s our date night. We usually put something special on our Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker but sometimes we cook inside. We always eat outside on our patio where it is very comfortable with a rainforest theme. Wood Pellet Patio Heater, little lights, candles, lanterns and surround sound. We enjoy a little wine, or strawberry margaritas using frozen strawberries for ice, good food, music and sometimes a dance or two…

Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 min. smoke, 30 min. grill at 350 degrees (174c)
Grill: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker
Pellets: Lumberjack Garlic

Ingredients: Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese

• 1lb. cut pasta, we used rigatoni
• 1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
• 8 small yellow sweet peppers, chopped
• ¾ lb. fresh broccoli crowns, chopped
• 1 14oz. can diced tomatoes with chipotle chilies, drained
• 12oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 12oz. pizza blend cheese, shredded
• 2 cups low fat milk
• 2 teaspoons Green Mountain Grills Sizzle Seasoning Blend

 Ingredients: Topping

• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 cups cheese crackers, crushed (we used Cheez-It Italian Four Cheese)

Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Directions: Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese

In a greased large cast iron Dutch oven sauté bacon with peppers and broccoli until veggies are semi-soft and bacon is cooked. Blend in remaining ingredients and cook on low until cheese is melted. In small bowl mix the topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of macaroni and cheese. You are ready for the grill, 30 minutes at 350 degrees (174c).

In A Cast Iron Dutch Oven Sauté Veggies

Blend in Remaining Ingredients

Pile on the Topping

Onto The GMG for the Smoke Treatment

Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Cooking Directions: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker

To prepare the grill for cooking, check your pellet supply – top off or change flavors as needed. Scrape grill grates off. Set the temperature to 450 degrees and press the “Start” button. Give the grill about 15 minutes to reach temperature and the grates to burn clean.

Note: You can set the start temperature anywhere you want. I do 450 (230c) for a quick cleaning burn.

I like to smoke everything for at least 30 minutes with an hour being even better. After all the Green Mountain wood pellet grill is a awesome smoker so use it for all the wood smoke flavor it will add to your food.

So after the grill comes up to temp and burns clean turn it back down to low. This will be around 150 degrees (66c). Place everything directly onto the grill and just let it hang out in the smoke and get happy for 30 minutes or so. This is referred to as “Smoking” or “Hot Smoking”, the temperature is 180 degrees (84c). 30 minutes of smoking is not enough to have any cooking effect on your meat but it is enough to open the pores so that the meat can pick up all the flavor of the smoke.

After 30 minutes, turn the (Temperature Control) up to 350 degrees (174c) for 30 minutes. When hot and bubbly it’s time to eat.

Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Lookin’ Good

Cooking In the Oven:

We have been getting requests for recipe conversions for the Pacific Living Outdoor Oven. I tell folks all the time that cooking on a Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker is just as easy as cooking in your oven. Just about anyone can do it and do it well. Think about it. You set your control knob to the temp you want, put your meat in and leave it for a set time.

It is the same thing, time and temperature is what it is all about. The Green Mountain grill is just like your oven except it uses wood pellets and has wheels. I did 30 minutes here at 350 degrees (174c).

Note: The Pacific Living Outdoor Oven also has a smoke box.

Ooey Gooey Mac & Cheese
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Let’s Eat!!!

About our Recipes

We do our recipes on our patio where we have a lineup of grills, including Louisiana, Green Mountain, Royall, Memphis, Traeger pellet grills, Char Griller side box smoker, Saber, Charmglow, Char-Broil, The Big Easy, Pacific Living Outdoor Oven, Lodge Sportsman’s, Brinkman and Weber. I call it our “Wall of Grill”. Our grilling styles are healthy and low fat and will fit pelletheads, gas, natural wood and even charcoal purists. Almost any of our recipes can be done on any kind of good BBQ.

The important thing to keep in mind is TIME & TEMPERATURE. You can even do some of them in the oven or crock pot, but, then you lose all the flavors you get from cooking outdoors. But sometimes it does rain.

Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste. Take it and run with it….

Live your Passion,
Ken & Patti

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Our Thanks To:

Maverick Industries, Inc.
1-800-526-0954
help@maverickhousewares.com
http://www.maverickhousewares.com/  

PelletCan
A storage container & dispenser for wood pellets
sales@pelletcan.com
http://www.pelletcan.com 

Lodge Cast Iron
www.lodgemfg.com

Lumberjack Wood Pellets
Jerry Brown
715-866-8535
www.lumberjackpelletsonline.com

Pacific Living Outdoor Oven
Pacific Living Inc.
Rick Jones
949-481-9213
rick@pacificlivinginc.com
http://pacificlivinginc.com/

Green Mountain Grills LLC
1 800 603 3398
Email: info@greenmountaingrills.com
http://greenmountaingrills.com/contact/