Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese

Yummy and filling! My kids don't like spicy food, and since you layer the buffalo chicken in, its easy to make half with the chicken and half of it regular macaroni and cheese to please everybody.

I just love how evenly my oven bakes ;)

INGREDIENTS:
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups milk
3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups shredded jack cheese
1 pound cooked pasta
2 cups Buffalo chicken
Panko breadcrumbs (I didn't measure, just used what looked good)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 (or larger) pan.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter then whisk in the flour. Whisk 3-4 minutes.
Slowly add the milk to the mixture, continuing to whisk to break up clumps. Continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens (about 10 minutes).
Add the seasonings, 3 cups of the cheddar cheese and 2 cups of the jack cheese to the mixture, continuing to stir until all of the cheese is melted.
Place a layer of noodles over the bottom of the dish, then layer with the cheese sauce, shredded cheddar cheese and buffalo chicken, repeating until all of the food is layered.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.
Bake at 375F until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbling (about 30 minutes).

NOTES:
If you don't have any buffalo chicken on hand, you can just cook some chicken, shred, and mix with desired amount of buffalo sauce. 

adapted from this site

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Simple and delicious! I used the crockpot buffalo chicken and homemade pizza crust.

INGREDIENTS:
Buffalo Chicken (I don't measure, I just use what looks good. I would guess its between 2-3 cups)
Ranch Dressing (again, I use what looks good. I would guess 3/4 - 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, cut up
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (maybe I should start measuring! 2-3 cups probably)
Pizza Crust

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 F.  Cook crust (with nothing on it) for about 5 minutes. Take crust out of oven and spread desired amount of ranch on it. Sprinkle half of the cheese, followed by the chicken and celery. Top with remaining cheese. Cook for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is browned.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I make this to use for a variety of recipes, including Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese and Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Easy to make and freeze!

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts (the bag I use is 2.25 lbs)

8-12 oz of buffalo wing sauce

1 pack Ranch dressing mix

2 Tbs butter

DIRECTIONS:

Trim fat off of the chicken. Put chicken, sauce, and ranch mix into the slow cooker. Cook on low around 6 hours. Once chicken is done, shred it with 2 forks. Stir chicken so it will absorb the liquid. Add the butter. Add more wing sauce if needed or desired.  Cook for another hour on low.