Anniversary Special:Bacon-wrapped beef fillets and Macaroni and Cheese

     This year for our anniversary, Tory and I wanted to do something special but on a budget...and on a week night.  We, conveniently, had a home visit last week from a salesperson for Oceans 6 (http://www.oceans6.net/) and we bought a six pack of frozen filet mignon.  This was perfect!
      So I did some research on Food Network.  I found a recipe for bacon wrapped grilled filet.  I kept looking and found a recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese.  I've copied and pasted the original recipes and added my notes in italics. 
    It was so delicious! I love that we can cook together, watch a movie, and stay home in pajamas. It was perfect and I look forward to many more nights like this =)

Bacon Wrapped Filet...by Paula Dean

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) bottle zesty Italian salad dressing
2 beef tenderloin fillets, 1 1/2 -2 inches thick
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons steak sauce (recommended: Lea and Perrins Steak Sauce)
2 teaspoons water
Directions
Pour the salad dressing into a shallow pan, place the steaks in the pan and let them marinate for 3 to 4 hours. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. Wrap a strip of bacon around each steak, securing it with a toothpick or kitchen twine. Grill the steaks over hot coals for about 8 minutes per side (5 minutes per side for rare). Baste with a mixture of steak sauce and water. For perfect steaks, turn them only once.  We have a small electric grill, so the time was a little longer.  It took about 12-15 minutes per side.  

Macaroni and Cheese...by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat pasta)
4 cups milk (I used fat free)
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
4 cloves garlic, smashed and divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar (I used mild cheddar)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Leaves from 1/4 bunch fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

The complete meal!  Grilled filet, homemade mac and cheese, and baked sweet potato fries.