macaroni and cheese

Maybe I should call this something else. It is pene pasta, not macaroni and it does not use Velveeta® cheese (pasteurized process, a combination of Colby and American style cheddar, heated then packaged, then cooled, smooth texture, creamy when melted, very inexpensive you can get a ton of it for a dollar <--- possible exaggeration, same thing as government cheese, totally déclassé, an essential for regular home-style macaroni and cheese, it is what American children think of when they think of cheese because they haven't been taught any better)

This is not like that. The broad assortment of remnant cheeses ensures this will never be duplicated. It simply is not possible. 2% milk was used and I debated about that because there is cream on hand as well as evaporated milk, either one would contribute significantly but I nixed them both because there are so many different types of cheese, and cheese is nothing if not milk. There is no actual sauce, just cheese melted in milk.

Spices include a mixture of various dry chile flakes and Mexican oregano. No additional salt or pepper.

The breadcrumb portion of the topping is already seasoned heavily and sweetened with brown sugar. It was surplus from the baked pork chops prepared earlier.

Why did I include smoked sun-dried tomatoes and bacon? Why indeed, because I wanted to, and because I am not cooking for finicky little children, I am not trying to approximate what Nana made, I am not trying to recreate a comfort food for a spouse, This is not a restaurant over here where one could reasonably expect something closely loyal to a standard and finally I am not serving guests, but mostly because I wanted to.

Could be creamier, but that is easily remedied -- by adding it.

dry ↑, 3/4 cooked↓

Mixed Panco and seasoned breadcrumbs, oatmeal, grated Parmisiano Reggiano. 

Butter rubbed in.

This is hardly the real Neufchâtel cheese ↑, not by a long shot. It is some kind of cream cheese. It was placed with the Philadelphia cream cheese to give you an idea of its provenance, that and the Kroger logo indicate a cheap imitation. They should be sued for using the name of the oldest cheese in France. It's just the sort of thing that pisses people off when entire generations are devoted to producing an authentic product that is held to a standard and protected by law in their own country.