BBQ Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

ORIGINAL POST:http://greedygirlcooks.blogspot.com/2015/09/bbq-chicken-macaroni-and-cheese.html

Ingredients

For the bbq chicken

2 CB chicken breast (boneless skinless)

3 pinch salt

1 ¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

3 tablespoon oil

½ cup onion chopped

¼ cup sweet pepper

2 garlic clove minced

1 ¼ cup hickory BBQ sauce

For the cheese sauce

3 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon flour

2 cup heavy cream or milk

8 oz pepper jack cheese

5 oz sharp cheddar cheese

1 onion (blended)

1 pinch of salt

Other

1 box elbow macaroni

For the topping

4 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves shredded

1 cup panko bread crumbles

Instructions

• First place a pot of salted water to boil
• Preheat your oven to 475 degrees
• Cut (washed and dried) chicken breast into strips and season with the salt black pepper, smoked paprika and 1 teaspoon of the oil
• On a hot grill cook the strips on both sides until fully cooked. Approximately 3 minutes per side.
• Remove from the heat and set aside. Chop into bite sized pieces
• In a sauté pan with 2 teaspoon of oil sauté the onions, peppers and garlic for 1 minute
• Add the grilled chicken to the mix and stir for another minute before adding the bbq sauce
• Stir to incorporate and warm the sauce, then remove it from the heat.
• By this the water should be boiling, add the pasta to the hot water

For the cheese sauce and to finish the dish

• In a clean pot melt the butter add the flour and cook for a few seconds
• Add the heavy cream to the flour mixture and whisk until the flour and butter has dissolved
• Add all the cheese and allow it to melt and the sauce to become very thick
• Shred or puree the small onion and add it to the cheese sauce along with a pinch of salt
• Once the sauce is thick stir in the BBQ chicken sauce
• Strain the elbows completely and stir the cheesy chicken BBQ sauce with the elbows
• Pour into a large baking pan

Optional garlic panko breadcrumb topping

• To make the topping, Melt the butter, stir in the shredded garlic and panko bread crumbs
• Sprinkle evenly on top of the elbows and cheese
• Bake until golden brown on top

Greedy Tips

• If you don’t have a grill you can sauté the chicken in a hot pan with a little oil
• if you don't do the panko topping you can cover it with shredded cheese
• And you may use any BBQ sauce you choose