Chicken Mac N Cheese With Broccoli And Cauliflower Recipes

BROCCOLI CHICKEN MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook pasta al dente** in a large stockpot of generously-salted water, according to package instructions. About 2-3 minutes before the pasta reaches al dente, add in the broccoli florets and let them cook alongside the pasta for the remainder of the cooking time. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, as the pasta water is heating, melt butter in a (separate) medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the flour until combined and cook for an additional 1 minute, whisking occasionally. Slowly whisk in vegetable or chicken stock until the mixture is smooth. Then slowly whisk in the milk until it is combined. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture comes to a simmer. Then remove from heat, and stir in the cheddar, Parmesan, salt and pepper until the cheese sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.
• Once the pasta and broccoli are cooked, pour the cheese sauce on top of the pasta, add in the chicken, and toss until everything is evenly combined.
• At this point, you can either serve the pasta stovetop-style as-is. Or pour the pasta into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with extra cheddar cheese and Panko breadcrumbs. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top becomes slightly crispy and the breadcrumbs are slightly golden. Remove and serve immediately.
• *To cook the chicken breasts on the stove top, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan. Pound chicken to even thickness, and sprinkle both sides with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Add to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. (Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken.) Or, to bake the chicken breasts in the oven, follow these instructions.
• **If making the baked version of this dish, I recommend ever-so-slightly undercooking your pasta, as it will cook a bit more while it bakes in the oven.

BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER GRATIN MAC N CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Salt the water and add the broccoli and cauliflower florets. Boil the vegetables for 5 minutes, then remove them with a spider or a strainer and drain. Add the pasta to the water and undercook by about 2 minutes, drain.
• Meanwhile, combine the sour cream in a large bowl along with the mustard, chives, garlic, hot sauce and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the pasta and cauliflower and 2/3 of the cheese. Stir to combine, then transfer it to a casserole or baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese. Cool and chill for a make-ahead meal.
• To heat and eat, put the casserole on baking sheet and bake it in the middle of a preheated 375 degree F oven until deeply golden and bubbly, about 40 to 45 minutes.

BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN BAKED MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over Medium/High heat. Add chicken to the pan and saute until done, seasoning with salt and pepper if preferred.
• If broccoli florets are not already cooked and chopped, do this now. You can buy frozen chopped broccoli to save time.
• Add chicken and broccoli to the already cooked macaroni pasta. Toss to make sure it is well mixed.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cheddar cheese soup, evaporated milk, sour cream, milk, Parmesan and seasoned salt. Add the butter after everything else is mixed.
• Cover with plastic wrap and cut a few slits in the top to vent.
• Microwave for 4 minutes to melt butter and heat the rest of the soup mixture. Make sure butter is melted when finished. If not, stir and microwave for another minute or two.
• To assemble the macaroni, layer 1/2 of the macaroni/chicken/broccoli mixture in the bottom of a sprayed 9x13 glass baking dish. Top with half of the cheese soup mixture. Top with half of the shredded cheese.
• Repeat all three layers one more time.
• Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese on top is melted. If the top is already browned, skip the next step.
• Turn oven to BROIL and allow macaroni to remain in the oven for 5 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned. You may even want to keep the oven door open a crack to watch the top and make sure it doesn't burn.
• You can make this a day or two ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Just remove it from the fridge about 45 minutes before baking so it comes up to room temperature and cooks evenly.

BROCCOLI-CAULIFLOWER MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Steam broccoli and cauliflower until just tender.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 3 quart baking dish.
• Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions.
• While pasta cooks, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Ass flour and shallot, and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. In a slow stream, add milk,whisking constantly. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer. Cook for 2-4 minutes until thickened.
• Off heat, add salt and cheeses, stirring until cheese is just melted. Combine pasta with cheese sauce, broccoli and cauliflower, and pour the mixture into a baking dish.
• Bake until sizzling and lightly browned on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.