Posts tagged: macaroni

Lightened Up Chicken Mac and Cheese

My ultimate comfort meal? A heaping bowl full of macaroni and cheese. No, not the stuff from the box people. I mean the real, down-home heart stuff that fills you up and warms you from the inside out.

Of course, eating bowl after bowl of that cheesy deliciousness is a little bad for the waistline... On the other hand, I don't believe in compromising flavor in favor of just eating the healthy stuff. That's why this Lightened Up Chicken Mac N Cheese is the one dinner you have to add to your winter weeknight rotation! It's creamy and dreamy and oh-so cheesy, but the lightened up cheese sauce and whole wheat noodles keep you from adding too much to your hips.

Without sacrificing any flavor! The Pig of the Month BBQ Pulled Chicken sure takes care of THAT. BOOM baby. Let's get cooking!

[vimeo 200244639 w=640 h=360]

Lightened Up Chicken Mac and Cheese from Pig of the Month BBQ on Vimeo.

INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until tender, approximately 3 minutes. Add flour, stirring to combine, and cook until golden, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in milk and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in macaroni and chicken into the saucepan. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Top with an extra sprinkled of cheese and the bread crumbs. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbly and the top is golden.

Shop This Post Pig of the Month BBQ Pulled Chicken *Recipe, video and photos by Meghan Bassett

Pulled Pork Mac n Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (in a waffle iron!)

Hey food porn fans... I've got something extra special for you today... It's hot and crispy straight out of the waffle iron, stuffed with saucy pulled pork and so cheesy your head might explode. It's basically a giant mess of a sandwich, carefully contained in a pocket of waffle ironed bread.

This is seriously going to become your new favorite way to make grilled cheese sandwiches, period. The waffle iron crisps up the bread in a way that cooking it over the stove just doesn't do. It's like your own personal panini press, with more than one function in the kitchen! You just pinch down those edges and it forms a pocket of deliciousness.

When you open up this bad boy, all that pork, mac n cheese and cheddar comes oozing out in the most luscious way. You might have to stop and just stare at it before shoveling it in your mouth in one giant bite. Might have to stop. But we know you definitely won't delay the goodness, right?

Get those cameras ready folks, this is food worthy of that 'foodporn' hashtag on Instagram.

INSTRUCTIONS Grease waffle iron with cooking spray and turn on.

To assemble the sandwich, begin with adding one slice of cheese to a slice of bread.

Top with half of the pulled pork, then half of the mac and cheese.

Finish with the other slice of bread. Repeat with the second sandwich. When the waffle iron is hot, cook one sandwich at a time. Place the sandwich in the center and press down firmly. You may have to hold the waffle iron down as it will not close completely.

When the cheese is melted, approximately 1 to 2 minutes, remove sandwich from the waffle iron. Repeat with the other sandwich. Serve immediately.

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Pig of the Month BBQ Pulled Pork

*Recipe & photos by Meghan Bassett