January 16, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese w Caulifower

True buffalo sauce is made from butter and Frank's Hot sauce with
(optional drizzle of Agave or any form of sweetener)

I decided to take some simple favorites and combine them together.
Buffalo Chicken with bacon, steamed cauliflower and Mac and Cheese.

I laid some bacon in my new bacon tray cooker that I received recently as a birthday gift.
(The spatula has a pig on the end---cute huh!)



So after placing the cover over the bacon tray and placing it in the microwave ....
literally 4 minutes later---it looked like this...


It worked out so well and it is SO easy to clean. I now don't have to cook bacon
in the oven with racks and worry about all that hassle of  fat drippings  etc...


I chopped the bacon up and put it aside to use later for the mac and cheese. 
I also boiled some pasta in salted water, strained the water and set that aside for later as well.
I also cut and steamed some cauliflower to add with the mac and cheese. 
(A little less carbs can go a long way)


For the cheese sauce of the mac and cheese I simply took some heavy cream, 
Ricotta cheese (because I had some leftover - the ricotta is totally optional) 
I started stirring the cream while adding some paprika powder.  
(Paprika is made from sweet, red peppers so not only is the color
vibrant but adds a heartier taste as well. 


I then added whatever cheese I had in the refrigerator. I added some shredded
cheddar and Gouda along with a few slices of provolone and lastly a little drizzle
of olive oil to help with the the thickness of the cheese and cream when I stir it.



I then took the chicken tenders that I bought from the hot foods section of
the supermarket and cut those into small bite size pieces. I made my buffalo sauce.
and tossed the chicken tenders in the sauce.


Don't you want to devour the buffalo chicken pieces....?


I then added all the friends together in a large mixing bowl before laying it into
an oven safe pan. If your not positive of all the friends... they are,
Buffalo chicken tender pieces, chopped bacon, elbow (macaroni noodles)
and steamed cauliflower. Once everyone is comfortable in the oven pan...
sprinkle some more shredded cheddar and add a sprinkle of bread crumbs on top.
When the bread crumbs get toasted in the oven... that's when you know
the Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is done and ready to chow down on!