It is normal for my household to have at least eight packs of cheese in our refrigerator each week. My mom has a lot of sponsors for cheese and dairy products who provide her with some of their goods which make up half of our collection. However, she still comes home from her weekly trip to the supermarket with more. I am not sure what goes through her mind when she reaches the chilled section in our local grocery store and decides to buy nearly the entire selection of cheese available despite already having so much at home. But I am not complaining because it gives me the perfect excuse to make one of my favorite comfort dishes.
My mom already had a mac n’ cheese recipe, of course, but I revised and added a few more personal spins to it to make it a tad bit more special. I opted to make the pasta dish a little more wholesome by incorporating some broccoli and spinach into it. Instead of meatballs which were originally used in her recipe, I paired the pasta with grilled pesto chicken to stay consistent with the green theme and bring some earthiness to the dish.
I guess we could consider this a little more guilt-free than the boxed version we have all been addicted to, for while we spoil ourselves with the rich heartiness of the mac n’ cheese, we are also nourishing our bodies with the micronutrients from the greens and protein from the chicken. The boost of dopamine from rewarding ourselves with cheese comes as a bonus.
Recipe
Yields 8-10 servings
~ Ingredients ~
Green Mac n’ Cheese
200 grams elbow macaroni, raw weight
50 grams unsalted butter
80 grams onion, diced
2 tablespoons mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
11⁄2 cup chicken broth
250mL all-purpose cream
140 grams white cheddar cheese
60 grams smoked cheese
140 grams spinach
175 grams broccoli
50 grams white cheddar, grated
Parsley
Grilled Pesto Chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons pesto
500g chicken breast, cut into strips
~ Procedure ~
Green Mac n’ Cheese
Cook the macaroni according to the instructions on that specific brand’s packaging.
Blanch the broccoli in a medium saucepan for 2 minutes and set aside.
Blanch the spinach for 2 minutes then set aside.
In another pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in butter until golden.
Add the mustard, paprika and chicken broth into the pan.
Mix in the all-purpose cream and cheeses and simmer until it becomes a little thicker. At this point in the recipe, you can adjust the sauce to your taste.
Scoop around 1 cup of the sauce and the spinach into a food processor and blend.
Mix the spinach mixture with the rest of the sauce.
In an 8”x8” dish, mix the cooked macaroni, sauce and broccoli together.
Sprinkle the remaining white cheddar above and leave the mac n’ cheese to bake in the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes.
After baking, remove and top with parsley. Serve warm and enjoy!
Grilled Pesto Chicken
Marinate the chicken with the pesto.
On a stovetop griddle pan, heat the oil.
Add the chicken strips covered in pesto into the pan and cook for a total of 5 minutes--3 minutes on the first side then flip and cook for another 2 minutes to achieve the perfect grill lines.
Serve along with or on top of the Green Mac n’ Cheese and enjoy!
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