Buffalo Mac ‘n Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese. I mean who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese?  It’s like the quintessential comfort food from so many of our childhoods.  As an adult, I have come to see mac ‘n cheese as somewhat of a blank canvas.  It’s also a great way to use up leftover chicken, pork, beef, veggies. And it goes well with other flavors too, salsa, barbeque, buffalo. The sky is the limit.   Today my macaroni and cheese canvas is buffalo mac ‘n cheese.  A winning fusion of two great flavors if you ask me.

You know the funny thing about buffalo flavor? I love it but my favorite application isn’t wings even though that might be the most well known. This may be one of my favorite ways to use buffalo.  The leftovers are great too – and I discovered that if you heat it in a toaster oven or an oven instead of the microwave the crunchy topping stays crunchy.

Here’s what you need:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your favorite pasta shape according to the package direction, making sure to stop at al dente as it will continue to cook a little in to oven.

We’re going to start by prepping the buffalo chicken. Mix a half a stick of butter and half a normal sized bottle of Frank’s red hot sauce in a sauce pan over medium heat (it should be roughly equal amounts).  Grate in a clove of garlic into the sauce – I’m sort of in love with garlic and wanted to add a nuance of something extra to the sauce. Once the sauce has come together, stir in some shredded chicken.  I had about 2 cups of chicken, that we had leftover, it’s not really an exact science.

The chicken can sit a little bit and wait for you to make the cheese sauce. If you like to multi-task you can do these simultaneously too.  Start by melting a half stick of butter in a sauce pan and then adding a quarter cup (which is an equal amount) of flour.  Whisk in the flour and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for about a minute until it turns lightly golden.  Now pour in the fat free half and half (this is my way to make myself feel just a little better about macaroni and cheese, and I like that it’s still thick and creamy).  Whisk until it begins to bubble – the half and half will thicken very quick.

Next stir in your cheese. I decided to use half Monterey jack because it’s super creamy and melts well and pair that with roasted garlic Monterey jack because I saw it in the grocery store and it looked good and therefore I had it in my fridge begging me to use it in something.  Sometimes that’s just how my mind worked – that and I love garlic and think it complements the buffalo well.  If you can’t find it go ahead and use all Monty jack.  Reserve about a half cup of cheese to sprinkle on the top.

Now pour that wonderful cheese sauce over the cooked pasta and stir everything together.

You  know you can’t help yourself from taste testing the mac ‘n cheese at this point – I certainly didn’t.

It’s time to layer everything together. I found a 2 quart casserole dish was about the perfect size. We’re going to layer first about a third of the pasta, then half of the chicken,  and some blue cheese.

Now repeat with another third of the pasta, the remaining chicken and more blue cheese. Top with the last third of pasta.

Sprinkle the top with the reserved cheese.

Pop in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes until the cheese melts.

Top with some French fried onions. I found a caramelized onion flavor, that as was another impulsive, I need to buy this and try on something purchase.  I really don’t think they make a bad flavor of these, and I love crunch on my mac ‘n cheese.

Pop into the oven for another 2 minute until the French fried onions begin to brown.

Look at those layers!

And there you have it. Buffalo macaroni and cheese – an awesome casserole of comfort!  This would also be something I’d serve on game day because buffalo reminds me of wings which remind me of football, but in a less messy form.

Buffalo Mac ‘n Cheese

 

Print

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

7 mins

Total time

32 mins

 

A fusion of buffalo wings and macaroni and cheese that makes for an incredibly comforting dish.

Author: Gravel & Dine

Recipe type: main

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 lb package of pasta
• Buffalo Chicken:
• ½ stick butter
• ½ regular sized bottle of Frank’s Red Hot
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 2 c shredded chicken
• Macaroni and Cheese:
• ½ stick butter
• ¼ c flour
• Salt
• pepper
• 2-1/2 c low fat half and half
• 8 oz shredded cheese – I used half Monterey Jack and half Roasted Garlic Monterey Jack
• Layering & Topping:
• Blue cheese
• French fried onions
• 1-2 oz extra Monterey jack cheese for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
3. In a saucepan, melt a half stick of the butter over medium heat and whisk in the hot sauce. Stir until incorporated together. Grate in a clove of garlic. Stir in the chicken.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining half stick of butter. Whisk in the flour. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a minute or so until it begins to start turning golden. Pour in the half and half, whisking as you pour. Bring to a bubble and whisk until it thickens. Stir in 8 oz of the shredded cheese.
5. Layer and assemble the macaroni in a 2 quart casserole dish. Start with a third of the macaroni and cheese. Add half the chicken and a generous handful of blue cheese (this can be done to taste). Add another third of the macaroni and cheese, the remaining chicken, and more blue cheese. Top with the last of the macaroni and cheese.
6. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
7. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts but doesn’t brown.
8. Sprinkle generously with French fried onions. Return to the oven for 2 minutes or until the onions begin to brown.

Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

3.5.3217