King Ranch Mac & Cheese

My friend Jenna is the greatest. She can do just about anything. Take for example her contribution to Cookbook Club this month; 

 

Wheat thins and egg salad. She made her own wheat thins and they were good! 

Jenna is also the greatest in that she arrived early and helped me make my dish. 

 

King Ranch Mac & Cheese! It was really good, but should have been as it had half & half, sour cream, velveeta and shredded cheese!   The recipe came from a cookbook I borrowed from the library; the Cookies &Cups Cookbook. 

King Ranch Mac and Cheese

8 oz cavatappi pasta (I used 16 oz rotini and 8 oz didn't seem to be enough)

2 Tbsp salted butter (I used unsalted as that's what I had on hand)

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 10 oz can rotel

1 lb velveeta, cubed

1/2 c sour cream

2/3 c half and half

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I omitted)

4 c cooked and shredded chicken

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain. 

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Melt the butter in the skillet and sauté the onion and bell peppers until soft, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. 

Add the rotel and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cubed cheese and stir constantly until the cheese is melted. 

With the skillet still over medium heat, stir in the sour cream and half and half. Season with cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir in the chicken. 

In a 3 qt Dutch oven or baking dish, combine the chicken/cheese mixture and the cooked pasta evenly. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and the mixture is bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. 

Serve hot. 

There were only three of us this month and the third dish was a delicious chocolate pistachio cake. I love that it was just dusted with powdered sugar. I think I might do that more with my cakes and not frost them.