Last summer my dear friends, Karen, Leslie and I went to Sisters, Oregon for the quilt festival. For dinner one night we went to a Brewery in Bend. Everything on the menu looked great, but I ordered something I had never ordered in a restaurant before - mac and cheese. It was to die for good and I couldn't stop thinking about it after we got back. I knew I had to replicate it and so the search began for a recipe. I found a great recipe from Pioneer Woman and then altered it a bit.
Let's just say - this is so good!! I wouldn't try to calculate the calories on it, but seriously, so good! Mylie and I are going to make it right now.
Steph’s Spicy Macaroni
& Cheese
(adapted from Pioneer
Woman)
1 box pasta
1 tablespoon olive
oil
diced onion
diced peppers (I like
to use a combo of red, orange, yellow)
1 4 oz can chopped
green chilies
2 to 3 cloves garlic,
chopped
diced ham
1 cup cream
1 generous cup grated
Pepper Jack cheese
(I use half cheddar and half pepper jack and usually use
more than 1 cup)
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Pepper
paprika
Boil pasta until al
dente. In a large skillet, add olive oil and saute garlic and vegetables over
medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add ham.
Add in canned chilies and stir around, then turn off heat. Drain pasta
and add it to skillet. Pour on cream, add cheese, then add salt, pepper, and paprika to
taste and stir gently. At the end, add 2 tablespoons butter and stir again.
Check seasonings and serve.
**You can add in other
veggies – I sometimes use tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes. You could also add corn.
**Sometimes I double
this recipe. I take ½ and put it in a
9x13 pan and sprinkle bread crumbs over top and then it can be baked later for
another meal. I imagine it would freeze
well.
