Sunday, April 10, 2011

Fried Chicken with Mac and Cheese

I'm babysitting a friend's daughter and she loves chicken tenders and macaroni. I decided to make fried chicken tenders with mac and cheese for her. Definitely an "unhealthy" meal but I'll make up for it the rest of the week (hopefully). This was my first attempt at making a sauce for the mac and cheese instead of just putting cheese on the pasta. It came out good but still needs some tweaking.

Fried Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken tenders
~ 1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
Oil
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper

Directions:
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper, place in a large bowl and cover with buttermilk. Sometimes I add a little hot sauce to the buttermilk to add a some heat. Let sit for about an hour.
2. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Season heavily with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. If you like a little heat you can add cayenne pepper as well.
3. In a large skillet, over med-high heat, heat enough oil so that the chicken tenders will be covered when placed in the oil.
4. When oil is hot, (test with a little water-if it bubbles it's ready), Coat chicken in seasoned flour and add to oil. Cook until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet and drain on paper towels. You may need to work in batches.

3 Cheese Mac and Cheese



Ingredients:
1/2 box (1/2 pound) whole wheat penne rigate pasta
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fontina cheese
1/2 cup monteray jack cheese
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large bowl toss cheeses together to mix.
4. In a medium sized sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth and slightly bubbly. Whisk in milk and stir in seasonings. Let come to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes, stirring to prevent lumps. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of cheese mixture. Stir to combine
5. In pasta pot, Stir together pasta and cheese sauce. Pour half pasta into baking dish. Cover with 1/2 remaining cheese. Pour remaining pasta on top and cover with remaining cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Increase heat to broil and cook 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.

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