Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac n Cheese

I just want to start out this entry by saying that Rachael Ray is crazy. This recipe is from Every Day with Rachael Ray, Feb 2011. My mom gets this one in the mail and then gives it to me. I have seen a few recipes here and there that I've tried, with varying success. Mostly, I just don't cook like that. When I say "like that," I mean with ingredients like prosciutto. This recipe is in a section of the magazine called 30 Minute Meals. This one took me 1 hr and 15 minutes. It is SO obvious that she has kitchen helpers. To be fair, I guess, so do I, although mine do not tend to speed up the process. This is something I was making because friends of ours were coming over tonight, but then they had to cancel due to the weather (come quickly, spring!). We were going to have it with a salad, and apple crisp for dessert, using the frozen apple pie filling my sister made and gave me. So we did not have the salad or the dessert, which luckily I hadn't made yet when I got the call, so the apples are safely frozen for now. I cannot say if the whipped cream will remain untouched, however. This recipe was very good, very tasty, but with the amount of effort, it SHOULD be! Over double the estimated time, oh and also I dirtied many pans in the making of this, making clean up quite the chore. As I type this, my dear husband is cleaning the George Foreman grill (I am really really hoping to find one with removable plates at a yard sale this summer) which is the last thing, but there were lots of dishes. Maybe if you made this repeatedly you could get into a rhythm and make it faster and with less mess. Maybe. Anyway here's the recipe (it is not a word-for-word rendition of her recipe...I left some descriptors out but put in the important parts).

Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac n Cheese
6 slices good quality (she means not Oscar Mayer or Hormel) smoky bacon, such as applewood smoked (they did have this at Walmart, but it was $7 for a pound, and I am not paying that. I got the Great Value knock-off of that bacon, which was $4.50, still more than I wanted to pay for bacon, but oh well)
Salt and pepper
1 pound whole wheat pasta
2 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded
olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (I just used regular paprika...I have no idea if it's "sweet smoked" or not)
4 tbsp butter
1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced
2 rounded tbsp flour
1/2 cup apple cider or chicken stock
2 cups whole milk (I used 1% because I don't buy whole milk...after the 2 cups were gone we would have had to drink the rest, and nobody would want to)
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (I used 1 tsp dried)
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (I used 1/8 tsp, and it wasn't freshly grated by any means)
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (I couldn't find this at Walmart or Hannaford...probably because I didn't know where to look, although I did a fairly thorough investigation at both places...I didn't want to ask someone because I don't know how to pronounce it and didn't want to look like an idiot...do you SEE why I don't use these recipes very often?? I just used 2 cups of the shredded cheddar)
Chopped parsley or celery leaves, for garnish (omitted by me)

Preheat the oven to 375. Arrange the bacon on slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Chop and reserve. Switch on the broiler and position the rack in the center of the oven (don't do this yet...if you do your broiler will be on for like an hour...wait til the end).

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than the instructions indicate, or until just shy of al dente. Drain and return to the pot.

While the pasta is working (her phrase, not mine), heat a grill pan or cast-iron griddle (or a George Foreman grill) over medium-high heat. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil to coat lightly, then season evenly with salt, pepper, and paprika. Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a cutting board and halve the pieces lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden and very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in the cider or stock, then the milk. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the cheeses until melted.

Add the chicken, bacon, and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a casserole (I had to use a 9x13 because it made so much). Broil until bubbling and brown, about 5 minutes (mine only took 2 so don't walk away too far). Garnish with parsley or celery greens.

Okay do you see what I mean? While this is cooking, do this. And then while that is cooking, do this other thing. Oh, and while you're doing that, do this too. I just don't have that many hands. We all ate this, even the kids liked it, and we still have over half of it left, so it will be good leftovers for the weekend, which approacheth, and during which, I worketh. So overall, I am keeping it, but under no illusions as to the time factor for the next time I attempt it.