Mac and cheese plus buffalo equals love

First, I wanted buffalo chicken. Then, I wanted mac and cheese. Hey kids, say it with me: “Pregnancy wants what pregnancy wants.” I put them together. Buffalo chicken mac and cheese. I thought I was a genius. I thought I had come up with the perfect junk food. I thought I had my million dollar idea.

My husband told a friend about it. That friend said, “Oh yeah, that’s the Bill Self signature dish at 23rd Street Brewery.” Wha? Okay, I’m not that original. But I am still winning, because I made this bad boy out of my own little head and it was a thing. Of. Beauty. If you are not married, but you want to be, you should make this. This is a “boyfriend keeper” of a dish. This is the stuff the guy tells his friends about. “This girl, she’s awesome. She mad BUFFALO CHICKEN MAC AND CHEESE.” Yes please, and come again.

Also, it was pretty easy. So there’s that, too. One pot. Everything you could ever want is in there. Eat it!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
1 box large elbox macaroni
2 or 3 chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup flour
3 Tablespoons butter
2 cups milk or half and half
1 cup chicken broth (as needed)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
cracked black pepper
kosher salt

Start a pot of water boiling with a serious dose of kosher salt (about 2 tablespoons). Cook the macaroni al dente.

Meanwhile, start your white sauce. Melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk together until it forms thick paste. Then gradually add the milk and as much of the chicken stock as necessary. Stir over medium heat to make the sauce appropriately thick. Add the cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

Add the Frank’s red hot and the dried mustard, and a few good cranks of cracked pepper.

Then, cut up your chicken breast into bite sized pieces and saute in a hot skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil until it’s completely cooked. Add it to the cooked macaroni and add the sauce and the bleu cheese crumbles.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 300 degrees until hot and bubbly.

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Then tell your husband you want a new car.