while i do refer to this as gourmet, it’s really just another easy to make pasta dish. it combines your favourite cheeses with the packaged mac n cheese mix (or not), some chicken and some spinach.
yes, i’m on a spinach kick lately.
recipe: gourmet mac n cheese
2 chicken breasts (or more, if you have more people)
half a bag of spinach
1 box kraft mac n cheese or equivalent amount of pasta (shells or elbows)
whatever cheese you like! i use pepper jack, parmesan, asiago, romano and cheddar. about a cup of cheese is good. you want it to be really gooey.
1/3 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of butter
first, start the chicken. it will take the longest to cook. as it’s cooking, boil the water and cook your pasta. drain the pasta and leave in the colander for just a bit. in the same saucepan you used for the pasta, put in the milk and butter. put it back on the stove and start to mix it together. slowly add the cheese and spinach, letting the cheese melt into the butter mixture and the spinach cooking. if you want to also use the boxed cheese mix, now is the time to put it in. next, pour the pasta back into the pot and stir it in with the cheese mixture. when all the pasta is covered with cheese, pour into low bowls and place sliced chicken on top. if you want even more cheese (okay, who doesn’t love cheese?), toss some parmesan on top.
serves 2-3