Hope your weekend has been swell! Tonight for dinner I made Green Chile Mac & Cheese. Lets put it this way, if you like mac & cheese but get bored of the same 'ol boxed kind or your own homemade, TRY THIS. It is seriously such a delicious spin on an old favorite! I got the recipe a few years ago from some magazine, somewhere. I have the page ripped out and trimmed down to fit in my binder so I have NO clue what magazine it did come from! Shame on me, I know! :) Here is the printed recipe before my photos :
Green Chile Mac & Cheese
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni
- 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 small onion
- 2 jalapenos, seeded, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-fat milk, warmed
- 2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles, drained
- 8 oz. sharp Cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups)
- 8 oz. pepper Jack, shredded (about 2 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups crushed corn chips
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and jalapenos and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour on onion mixture and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Raise heat to medium and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minutes Stir in chiles. Set aside 1/2 cup of Cheddar. Add remaining Cheddar and all pepper Jack to skillet and cook, stirring, until all cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add pasta to skillet; stir. Mist a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and pour in pasta mixture.
4. In a bowl, combine corn chips with reserved 1/2 cup Cheddar; sprinkle over pasta. Place dish in oven and bake until pasta mixture is bubbling and top is golden, 40-45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Now this recipe makes a lot. . . it seems that pasta always grows as you cook with it! I halved this recipe today because it fits just the 2 of us so much better! I also left out the jalapenos because we are not overly spicy food eaters. The green chiles and pepper Jack cheese give it the perfect kick!
First you need to saute the onions in your butter. Really let them cook so they start getting translucent and softened. You don't want crunchy onions in this one!
After you have cooked the onions down, you need to put your flour in with them and mix it really well. This is what will thicken your milk and make it creamy and delish! It should look like paste.
After you have allowed that to cook for several minutes, you can whisk in your milk. After you have done that, make sure to keep stirring so it does not scald on the bottom of your pan. Keep stirring until it is starting to bubble and is thickened.
After it is thickened, you need to add your green chiles. These can be found in the Mexican Foods section of your grocery store!
Once you have the chiles all stirred in, it's time to add your cheeses! YUM. I used about a cup of each since I halved it.
After you add the cheese, stir stir stir! Keep stirring until all the cheese is nice and incorporated. After it is nice and creamy, you will want to add your pasta and stir it all together.
Once you have it all mixed together, pour it into a well greased casserole dish. I used a round one because it was the perfect size! Then you need to put some cheddar on top and the corn chips. I however did not have any corn chips and so I use Ritz crackers. . .I thought it was really good this way!!
If you have made half a recipe, you'll want to bake it for 20-25 minutes. If you made the full recipe, you will want to bake it for 40-45 minutes. It should come out nice and bubbly and the top browned.
It really is a full meal all on its own but we had a little salad with ours too! It was delicious and makes for great lunchtime leftovers. Works out pretty great!
Like I said before, it's all in your preferance as to how spicy you choose to make it. We think its just perfect without any jalapanos. You might think that 2 just isn't enough! Whatever you like, I know you will enjoy this. It's even great to make when you have dinner guests. . .Adult mac and cheese! Although, I think kids would love it too!
I won't be posting anything tomorrow night as we are going out with our familes for dinner to celebrate the hubby's birthday!! Boy is he getting OLD. Glad that's not me.
Happy Sunday!!
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