Buffalo Chicken Mac N’ Cheese

Because for some of us, the Super Bowl has nothing to football and everything to do with warm, gooey, delicious, indulgent comfort food, this year I made Buffalo Chicken Mac N’ Cheese to satisfy all your cheesy-spicy cravings. Kick it up a notch by topping with crumbled bacon or adding more hot sauce. If you don’t like blue cheese, simply use ranch dressing instead!

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
• Salt
• ½ pound elbow macaroni
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup Frank’s hot sauce
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup milk (preferably 2% or whole)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (option to mix in shredded pepper jack also)
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a large casserole dish.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.

3. In the meantime, in a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tbsp. of butter and stir in the chicken and garlic. Cook for a couple minutes then add 1/2 cup of the hot sauce and mix it all together until well combined. Put the chicken mixture in a bowl and set aside. Quickly rinse out your skillet and return to stove.

4. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in the skillet over medium heat and whisk in the flour until smooth. Then stir in the milk and add the remaining ½ cup of hot sauce and stir until thick. Stir in the shredded cheese until melted and smooth.

5. In the prepared baking dish, spread half of the macaroni in the bottom of the dish then top with the buffalo chicken mixture and then the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.

6. Put the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter in a small pan and pour in breadcrumbs to toast them and then sprinkle over the top.

7. Microwave blue cheese crumbles and stir until smooth then drizzle over the breadcrumbs. You can use blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing to save a little time too!

8. Put in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Make sure to let rest and cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!