BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese
Mac & Cheese was a staple when I was growing up, but it was the boxed kind, it was cheap, but I always wondered about the glow in the dark orange cheese. This sounds like a great variant. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped, can be Oyster, King Oyster, Shiitake, etc.
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- spring onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook elbow pasta according to package instructions, drain, splash with olive oil to prevent sticking and set aside.
- Heat a pan and the olive oil over medium heat, add the mushrooms and cook until slightly browned, then add the peas and cook for one more minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a sauce pan add milk and turn on heat to medium, whisk the flour into the milk. Bring milk to a boil, continue whisking, milk will thicken. Remove from heat and add the cheese and stir or whisk until cheese melts. Once the cheese is melted, stir in the the BBQ sauce and chicken, then stir in the the peas and mushrooms.
- Pour the sauce over the macaroni and gently mix to coat all the pasta. Spoon onto serving dishes and sprinkle on some of the sliced spring onions and even some additional shredded Cheddar cheese.
- Al alternative is to pour the mixed pasta and sauce into a casserole pan, top with shredded Cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs and put under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
Two chicken breasts is minimal since it is 60 Baht/kilo, 2 breasts is less than that. As a bonus, boil the chicken breasts with some vegetables to cook them, and you will have chicken stock for another recipe (or cook the pasta in the stock). Cheese will cost about 160-180 Baht for a 200 gram block, easily 2 cups of shredded. Going with 180 Baht for the cheese and say 30 Baht for the chicken, and 40 Baht for the pasta, this comes to about $1.85 per meal for 4 people.
Shortcut: BBQ Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
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