Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

This week's Meals On Wheels recipe is for buffalo chicken mac & cheese. I got the recipe from Tiffany, my all-things-buffalo obsessed friend. After spending so much time making it, there was no way I was giving it away without a little taste, so I scooped a couple spoonfuls into a bowl & tried it. OMG, ya'll! Seriously, omg. You want to make this.

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

7 tbsp unsalted butter

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

*3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce, divided

2 tbsp AP flour

2 tsp dry mustard

2 1/2 cups half-and-half

*1 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

*8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded

2/3 cup sour cream

1 cup Panko

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees & butter a 9x13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta & cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion & celery & cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken & garlic & cook 2 minutes. Then add 1/2 cup buffalo sauce & simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour & mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup buffalo sauce & stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in cheddar & pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture & the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top. Put the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a microwave safe bowl & microwave until melted. Stir in the Panko, blue cheese & parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni. Bake until bubbly, 30-40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle with some buffalo sauce for color.

Garnish with more buffalo sauce, blue cheese & sour cream if you want!

*A couple of things: 1) for the "3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken" I just boiled a bunch of chicken breasts & shredded them; 2) I bought blocks of cheese & grated them, which took a good 10 minutes & turned my hand into a claw, so you may want to buy shredded cheese to save time; 3) this is by no means a 30 minute meal, save this for a Sat or Sun afternoon when you have a lot of time.

Highly, highly recommend this recipe. Thanks, Tiff!