Buffalo Mac And Cheese

Cooked chicken breast

2 tsp olive oil

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast

¼ cup buffalo sauce

 

Pasta

1 pound pasta, penne rigate

Salt to taste

 

Roux

2 ½ Tbsp butter

2 ½ Tbsp all purpose flour

 

Buffalo Mac and Cheese

1 Tbsp butter

¼ cup yellow onion, small diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 ½ cups half and half

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

Prepared roux (use all)

2 ½ cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

1 ¼ tsp mustard powder

Prepared chicken breast (use all)

1 pound pasta cooked

¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Chicken Breast

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Coat the chicken breast with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the breast on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
  2. Medium dice the cooked chicken and place in a small mixing bowl.  Toss the chicken together with the buffalo sauce. Set aside.

For the Pasta

  1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil, add salt to taste.  Add pasta to the boiling water and stir.
  2. Boil pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally for 11 minutes.  Remove the pasta from heat and drain. Rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

For the Roux

  1. In a small pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour to reach a smooth consistency.
  2. Continue to stir the roux and cook over low heat for five minutes.  Remove the roux from heat.

Buffalo Mac and Cheese (Let’s put it all together!)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
  2. In a large pan over medium heat, sweat onions and garlic in butter.  Add half and half and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Whisk in all of the roux and reduce heat to low. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.  
  4. Stir in cheddar.  Once the cheddar is melted, add the cayenne pepper and mustard powder.  Mix well and remove from heat.
  5. In a large bowl, combine cheese sauce, all of the diced buffalo chicken, and pasta.  Mix until the pasta is evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with blue cheese crumbles.  
  7. Bake for 25 minutes.  Serve hot.