Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese-21 DF Legal!

Another yummy 21 DF Legal recipe!  I modified it a bit to make it gluten free for me.  This one is a keeper!  Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Regular or GF
Serves: 8

21 DF: 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 blue

Ingredients:

·         1-1 ½ lbs. boneless chicken breasts (about 2-3)

·         1 (1.5 oz. pkt Ranch Dressing Seasoning

·         1 c. Frank’s Hot Sauce (large bottle)

·         2 c. chicken stock

·         4 c. whole wheat elbow noodles (I used quinoa/brown rice spiral noodles)-cooked al dente

·         1 c. 1 % milk (I used almond milk)

·         1 T. whole wheat flour (I used 1 T. almond flour and 1 T. corn starch for thickening)

·         ½ t. garlic powder

·         ½ t. onion powder

·         ¼ t. Himalayan salt

·         2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

·         ¼ c. shredded asiago cheese (or parmesan)

·         1 T. whole wheat bread crumbs ( I used Ian’s GF Italian Panko crumbs)

Instructions:

1         Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Sprinkle ranch seasoning over chicken then pour hot sauce and ½ c. chicken stock.  Turn chicken a few times to be sure it is coated and the liquids are mixed with the seasoning.

2         Cook on low for 8 hours.  Take chicken out and shred.  Add liquid from the slow cooker  to the chicken until you get the flavor you want.  This also keeps the chicken moist.

3         Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4         In a medium/large pot, over medium heat, whisk together chicken stock, milk, and flour/corn starch until completely dissolved.

5         Cook until bubbly, about 5-7 minutes.

6         Stir in garlic powder, onion powder, salt and both cheeses.  Stir until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

7         Place pasta in a 9 X 13 casserole dish (or 8X8 if you want it to be a deeper dish) coated with cooking spray.  Mix shredded chicken with the pasta.  Pour cheese sauce over it, then stir until evenly coated.

8         Sprinkle whole wheat bread crumbs/Panko crumbs over top and bake at 350 degress for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly.  Let it sit for 3 minutes then enjoy!

Notes:

Make ahead instructions:

The chicken for this recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen.  You can make entire recipe ahead of time and freeze in portions.  You can assemble and freeze before baking.  Let thaw overnight in the fridge, then proceed with the cooking instructions.