Bacon Gouda Mac & Cheese

0 Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
3 To bake your bake in the oven: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and lay your bacon out without overlapping. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until desired doneness. Once it's done, place bacon slices on a plate lined with paper towels and let cool completely before chopping!
4 In a medium pot, bring water to a boil with a generous shake of sea salt. Add in the pasta and cook until al dente. Or until it's soft with a little crunch. Drain and set aside.
1 In the same saucepan, heat the milk, butter, and flour. Stir with a whisk and heat but don’t boil. Remove it from the heat. Add in the shredded cheese, paprika, salt, pepper & nutmeg. Make sure the cheese gets fully melted in, you may have to heat it a little to get it all mixed.
5 Add the pasta and crumbled bacon onto the sauce mixture. Mix until everything is incorporated well.
2 Pour the mac and cheese into a 8x8 oven safe dish. Top with with a layer of panko.
6 Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until it’s nice and brown! Enjoy!