buffalo chicken mac & cheese

Last week after I posted on Wednesday I had a thought:

“I told them my thesis defense was on Tuesday and then didn’t mention it on Wednesday, I wonder if people think I failed?!”

Cue the music: You’reeeee sooooo vaaaaaaaain.

Vain, yes. Delusional, definitely. I called my mom and told her I passed so that probably covered the population of people who noticed or cared. But just in case, I passed! Yay!

Then I proceeded to drink 3 beers, which is pushing my tolerance especially given that it was a Tuesday. I said “This is making up for all of those weekends when I couldn’t go out because of this damn thesis!”

In reality I’d have to drink quite a lot more to make up for all of that.

But it’s a relief to be done!

This mac and cheese was a celebratory meal that was almost as much fun as the IPAs (Troeg’s, by the way). I literally took all of the components of my chicken wing dip and added pasta. The GS declared it the best pasta he’s ever eaten.

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

1 lb short cut pasta

3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

1 cup buffalo wing sauce

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

1 1/4 cups skim milk

8 oz grated Monterey Jack cheese

2 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup creamy blue cheese dressing

scallions, for garnish

Cook the pasta according to directions, and toss the shredded chicken with the wing sauce.

The main “cooking” part of this meal is the cheese sauce. We start with a roux, so melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the flour, stirring for 4-5 minutes until light brown and smooth. Add the milk, cream cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese and stir for at least 7-8 minutes until the cheeses are melted and the sauce has thickened slightly. Stir in the blue cheese dressing and remove from heat.

Stir the cheese sauce into your cooked pasta, then toss int he buffalo chicken. Pour into a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Garnish with scallions and extra wing sauce.