Super Simple Cheddar Mac & Cheese

Where has the time gone?

 It was brought to my attention last weekend (shout out to Tami!) that it has been over four months since my last post. Which also means that it has been over four months since my last blogspot log in.  I must admit that upon todays log in, I was tickled to see that I have had over 13,000 blog views.  :)  Now, I am completely aware that there are thousands of bloggers out there who by far surpass me in numbers and probably have quadruple that amount in followers and probably get that number of page views on the daily.  Good for them, but that is not what I'm about.  I like to share at my leisure and not feel as if I must produce.  So that is exactly what I will continue to do.  With that said, thank you to those that continue to check in and to Tami for giving me a little nudge. 

I was also thrilled to see that my most viewed post is this, a recipe that I created myself.  The second most viewed is my recipe is for this, which is also delicious (A sad but true fact: I had to sing "Fergalicious" in my head to get that spelled right). 

Please excuse me while I go refill my glass with a little more two "and a half" buck Chuck....

K I'm back, refilled, and good to go!  Where were we? Oh yes, the Two Buck Chuck!  Who else thinks they should change it's nickname already? It would totally still rhyme and make a lot more sense. Let me just say that I am comfortable enough with my own frugalness (or smartness as I like to call it) to not be ashamed to admit that I, on occasion, drink the two buck Chuck.  I must also admit though, that I am no wine connoisseur and if you are, then maybe you are gagging on your cork right now, who knows?! 

So lets get to this recipe already, shall we?

Last week I made this CRAZY good mac n cheese. I am talking RICH, CREAMY, CHEESY, SUPER SIMPLE, "ARE YOU GOING TO FINISH THAT?" kind of mac & cheese!  It was so palate pleasing that I actually made it two nights in a row!! And in our house that is absurd! If I make a dish today, it better not appear in the rotation for at least a month or someone will say "didn't we just have this?!" My cousin twin, (cousins that look a ton alike, and sound a lot alike and that were born only a month apart) said that she is really loving mac & cheese at the moment, so I just had to post this recipe for her! :) Cheers to you Kell Bell!

This recipe does not make a ton.  It worked well for us as two adult sized side servings with enough left over to send with the husband the next day for lunch with a grilled chicken breast. 

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C uncooked small shaped pasta (obviously macaroni is a great choice.  I acutally used orecchiette the first time and penne the second)
1/4 C butter
1/4 C all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
4 pinches of pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 C half & half
1 C milk
1 1/2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes hot sauce (such as Tapatio)
Panko bread crumbs
1/2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare an 8X8 glass dish with cooking spray.  Set aside.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  fill a small sauce pan with salted water.  Bring to a boil. Stir in the uncooked pasta.  Cook according to package directions.  Drain well and set aside.  Using the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, half and half and milk.  Whisk until smooth and cook until thickened.  (This will take just a few minutes.)  Turn the heat to low, whisk in 1 1/2 of cheddar cheese, ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.  Stir in the cooked pasta.  Spoon the cheesy pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with desired amount of bread crumbs.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C cheddar cheese.  Bake in preheated oven for 4 min. or until the cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pasta

Since the husband isn't a huge fan of pasta, I try not to cook dishes with pasta too often, but when I do, I try to make sure that it is something wonderful!  This dish definitely falls under the wonderful category.

This recipe was originally called "One Pot Creamy Chicken and Noodles". That is a nice name and all, but after I prepared this dish, I decided that it tasted exactly like a cheesy chicken pot pie made with pasta noodles instead of the pie crust.  So since I altered the original recipe, I took it upon myself to also alter the name.  Therefore, I will now call it "Cheesy Chicken Pot Pasta".  This recipe will easily feed a family of four with a major possibility of leftovers.


INGREDIENTS:

2 TBSP olive oil
2 C total of chopped onions, celery and carrots (I used a half of a large onion, three celery stalks and two handfuls of baby carrots
1 TBSP garlic, minced
salt & pepper
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
2.5 C milk, divided
2 TBSP cornstarch
1.5 TBSP butter
3 heaping TBSP chicken bouillon granules, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
2 C water
1 TBSP dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 lb. dried linguini, broken in half
1.5C cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium/high heat.  Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic.  sauté in the olive oil just until the vegetables start to become tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the cubed chicken to the pot and season with salt and pepper.  sauté the chicken with the vegetables until it is no longer pink (there is not a need to cook it through as it will finish cooking as it simmers in the sauce).  As you sauté the chicken with the vegetables you'll need to prepare the cream sauce in a small sauce pan by whisking 1 cup of the milk with the cornstarch.  Place the sauce pan over medium/high heat and add the 1.5 TBSP of butter, 1 heaping tsp. of chicken bouillon granules, 1/2 tsp. of salt along with a dash of pepper.  Whisk together and continue to whisk until the mixture has thickened.  Remove from heat and add it into the large pot as soon as the chicken cubes are no longer pink.  Also mix in the remaining 1.5 C of milk, 2C of water, the remaining 2 heaping tsp. of chicken bouillon granules, the dried parsley, dried thyme, garlic powder, and dried linguini.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low.  Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the pasta is tender.  Stir every five minutes or so to prevent the noodles from sticking to one another.  Once the pasta if finished, removed the pot from the heat and stir in 1 C of shredded cheddar cheese.  Top with the remaining .5 C and allow to sit and rest for five minutes or so until the cheese becomes melted and the sauce has thickened.  ENJOY!

Adapted from yellowblissroad.com's recipe for "creamy chicken and noodles"