This I made from the May issue of Cooking Light. So EASY and SOOO darn good!

This I made from the May issue of Cooking Light. So EASY and SOOO darn good!

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked large or regular elbow macaroni
  • 3 cups prechopped broccoli florets
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked crispy, then cooled and then crumble and put in bowl and put aside
  • 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch bite-sized pieces
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic from a jar is just fine!
  • 1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk…or whole milk..or better yet, 1/2 & 1/2
  • 1 cup chicken stock (such as Swanson)
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour $
  • 10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/4 cups) and i also used some blue cheese that I had on hand!! That was yummy!

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat broiler to high.
  2. 2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add broccoli to same pot  during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain both
  3.  While pasta cooks, place bacon in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan, drain then crumble; reserve 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan.
  4. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes. Sprinkle with garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with turmeric; cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
  5.  Combine remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, milk, stock, and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Add pasta mixture and 2 ounces cheese; toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 3 ounces cheese and bacon. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts and just begins to brown.
  6. Let cool about 5 mins and then dish it up!! You will see nothing but empty plates and people asking for more!!

Mac & Cheese Served

This feeds 4 people with a little extra for seconds…and there WILL be seconds!!!

THANK YOU Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light (with a little adaptions of my own!)
MAY 2014

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