STEPHANIE'S SLICE OF LIFE

Is there anything better than Mac and Cheese? The answer is no, there isn’t. It is the ultimate comfort food. I could eat mac and cheese every day and would not tire of it. If you are feeling a little spicy, why not give that heavenly mixture of macaroni and cheese a little kick with some buffalo sauce.

This recipe is just a little spin off of the regular mac and cheese recipe that I normally make. It is also a recipe for baked mac and cheese, but if you prefer it unbaked just skip the breadcrumb topping and baking step. I always preferred it baked, but now I am starting to lean more towards unbaked. Either is delicious and I alternate back and forth.

This is also one of those recipes that I make without measuring everything so please bear with the lack of accurate measurements.

Now let’s get to that cheesy goodness!

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta

8 oz. block of cheddar cheese

4 oz. block pepperjack cheese

3 cups milk

Pepper

Ground mustard

Shredded chicken

1/4 cup – 1/2 cup Buffalo sauce

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

7 tbsp. butter, divided

1 tbsp. crumbled blue cheese

Shred the cheddar and pepperjack cheeses and set aside. I recommend using block cheese and shredding it yourself. You can use pre-shredded cheese, but using block cheese gives it better flavor.

Shred some cooked chicken, you can use as much as you would like. I am guessing I used about a cup or a cup and a half.

Start getting the pasta ready to cook. The sauce takes about 10 minutes so gear when to start the pasta based on that.

Melt 4 tbsp. of butter in a saucepan. Add some pepper and some ground mustard and whisk together. I just sprinkle some in, maybe about two shakes of the ground mustard. You can also use about a tsp. of regular mustard if you don’t have ground mustard.

Add flour and whisk to create a roux. I don’t measure the flour, I just add some and then add a little more until it becomes the consistency seen in the second photo below. It is really important to constantly whisk during this step.

Add the milk while whisking well to really incorporate the roux into the milk. Add the buffalo sauce, use as much as you think you would like. I always tend to put less and then have it on the table for people to add more if they prefer. Bring to a low boil while continuing to whisk frequently.

Once boiled reduce heat to a simmer and add the cheese. Whisk well until all the cheese is melted. As you can see I dropped some cheese on my stove, ooops.

Keep simmering and whisking frequently until pasta is cooked.

If you prefer an unbaked mac and cheese, just mix the pasta, chicken and cheese sauce together in the pan and serve.

If you would like it baked, put half of the pasta and all the chicken into a greased casserole dish. Pour in half of the cheese sauce and stir it together. Look at that yummy cheese!

Add the rest of the pasta and the rest of the sauce to the casserole. Stir.

Mix together 3 tbsp. of melted butter with the breadcrumbs and blue cheese. If you like a lot of blue cheese, add more than the 1 tbsp.

Sprinkle over the top of the casserole and bake covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, and an additional 5-10 minutes uncovered until bubbly.

Yum, yum, yum.

So good! Enjoy!