This is a stubborn opinion, but I will stick with it until I die. Mac and cheese with anything added is bad. Just bad. Macaroni and cheese, at its very core, is meant to be comforting. We all remember that one time when we had a bad day and only mac and cheese sounded good. We all remember being with a special friend or family member and eating it together. We all remember when we had a babysitter and it was a huge treat.

What do all of those memories have in common?

Not bread crumbs. Not broccoli. Not bacon. Not all of that extra crap people put in macaroni and cheese to make it artisan or hipster or more delicious (impossible).

Macaroni and cheese is comforting. It is consistent. You eat it because you know what it tastes like and you don't want an adventure. Its flavor profile is simple, the texture is homogeneous, it's one taste and one temperature and one color and one shape. It's not meant to be different. It's not meant to be special or new. It's meant to be something that you can depend on when you don't want a surprise. And gosh darn it, macaroni and cheese does it better than anything else.

So don't add to it. Enjoy the simple taste and happy feeling in your belly. Just be at peace with your noodles.