Chicken And Spinach Mac And Cheese Food

HOMEMADE CHICKEN & SPINACH MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Cook the pasta as directed.
• Warm the frozen spinach and drain well.
• In a skillet, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Then whisk in the milk and let simmer over low heat until sauce thickens. Stir in the sour cream, garlic powder 2 cheeses until they melt. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the shredded chicken and drained spinach.
• In the prepared baking dish, add the cooked pasta and then pour the cheesy chicken sauce over the top and gently combine and mix well in the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until warmed through.
• Serve Homemade Chicken & Spinach Mac and Cheese as one dish meal, or with small side salad or veggies.

SPINACH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon butter.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat while macaroni is cooking. Add flour and whisk until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in a little milk and continue whisking. Pour in remaining milk and add frozen spinach. Cook, whisking constantly, until spinach softens and sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
• Remove sauce from heat and stir in 2 cups Cheddar cheese; whisk until melted. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
• Drain macaroni and spread evenly in the prepared baking dish. Cover with cheese sauce. Mix well. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Turn on the oven's broiler and broil until a golden crust forms on top, about 3 minutes.

STOVE-TOP CHICKEN AND SPINACH LOADED MAC N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Season chicken breasts with 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon Italian herbs, and salt and pepper.
• In a large pot, fry bacon until crisp. Transfer bacon to a lined plate, reserving the drippings. Add the chicken to the same pan with the drippings and cook until golden brown on each side and no pink remains in the center (approximately 10-15 minutes depending on the size). Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
• To the same pan, add the butter, onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of broth and cook 3 minutes. Add the sun dried tomatoes and the flour and cook for a minute further, stirring to prevent the flour from burning. Add the remaining broth, milk, chili flakes, remaining Italian herbs, salt and pepper, and rosemary and bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened slightly.
• Add the pasta and stir occasionally as it comes to a simmer. Reduce to medium low and stir until the sauce thickens and the macaroni is just cooked (8-10 minutes). Add the cheeses and adjust seasoning. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
• Remove from heat. Slice the chicken, crumble the bacon and stir both into pasta. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

SPINACH MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucuepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute without browning.
• Stir in half the milk to form a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk, stirring constantly until bubbles appear around the edges of the surface (do not boil). Add the cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt; stir just until combined.
• Keep warm over lowest heat, sitting occasionally until pasta is ready. Drain pasta well.
• Mix cooked spinach into the sauce and turn off heat. Add pasta, mix well and transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish.
• Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven, top with crouton crumbs and serve.

SPICY CHICKEN MAC AND CHEESE SKILLET

Steps:

• Prepare Dinner as directed on package.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 min. or until lightly browned. Stir in tomatoes and soup; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally.
• Add Dinner; stir until blended. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Cook 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

LIGHT MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400F.
• Spray 8" square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• In small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the milk and flour until smooth.
• In heavy medium saucepan, heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk over medium heat until steaming.
• Add flour mixture; cook 2-3 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, whisking constantly.
• Remove from heat; stir in cheddar cheese until melted.
• Stir in cottage cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
• Rinse under cold running water; squeeze out excess moisture.
• Cook macaroni in large pot of boiling lightly salted water 4-5 minutes or until not quite tender, stirring often.
• (Macaroni will continue to cook while baking.) Drain; rinse with cold water.
• Drain again.
• In large bowl, stir together cheese sauce and macaroni.
• Spread half of the macaroni mixture in baking dish; spoon spinach over top.
• Spread remaining macaroni mixture over spinach layer; sprinkle with wheat germ.
• (Dish can be made to this point and refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator before baking.) Bake 35-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
• TIP*If you can't find wheat germ, substitute an equal amount of Parmesan cheese, cracker crumbs or bread crumbs.
• VARIATION: To make Southwestern Macaroni and Cheese with Peppers, substitute 1 cup grated pepper Jack cheese for 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.
• Omit the nutmeg.
• Add 1 (4 1/2-oz.) can chopped mild green chiles, 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro and dash cayenne pepper to cheese sauce.
• Omit spinach.
• Instead, cook 2 cups thawed frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables in 1 teaspoon olive oil 3 to 4 minutes or until tender.
• Replace spinach with pepper mixture.

SPINACH MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium non-stick pan. Add the leeks, stir well, then cover and cook for about 6 mins or until softened.
• Put the flour and mustard powder in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the milk. Pour into the pan with the leeks and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened. Continue stirring over a low heat while the pasta cooks. It will seem thick but will be diluted later.
• Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water, then stir the paste into the sauce. Add the spinach and 1-11/2 ladlefuls of the water to make a spoonable sauce, then stir over the heat until the spinach has wilted. Stir in most of the cheese and taste for seasoning.
• Heat the grill. Tip the pasta mixture into a casserole dish, arrange the tomatoes over the top and scatter over the remaining cheese. Grill for 5-10 mins or until bubbling and golden.