Stovetop Green Chili Macaroni and Cheese
Bringing you guys something ultra cozy today because I am currently camped out on my Aunt's couch this afternoon and have no plans of leaving. I am staying with my Aunt in Colorado for the rest of the weekend after my two day shoot with Purely Elizabeth. I am the best kind of tired right now. If you were wondering... the shoot went great! We got all the shots finished and even a few extra! Afterwards, I treated myself to a really good pedicure. Like one with a fancy salt scrub and everything, which I hardly do but I thought what the hell? I joined a friend from college and his parents for dinner afterwards. Ryan's mom is from Korea so she made us these amazing hot pot dinners. It was so tasty and the perfect end to a long work week.
This morning I slept in extra late and I've been making photo selects from the photoshoot all morning and watching The Handmaids tale reruns with my aunt, uncle and cousins. It's the first time they are seeing the show so I'm patiently keeping my mouth shut as the plot unfolds. I watched it last spring in like two days flat. Such a dark show but so impactful and amazing acting! If you haven't seen it, I would pick a dreary Saturday and give it a binge watch.
To keep up my 'cozy' day theme I thought I would share a recipe that gives you all the comfort food feels. It would also be insanely delicious for Super Bowl, just sayin'. This green chili mac and cheese is sort of like 'lazy girl recipe meets OMG this is actually delicious'. It might also be one of the tastiest things to eat when you're feeling a little under the weather (hungover). The whole recipe is done in two simple stovetop pots, no oven preheating, no baking dish to clean and I totally believe in buying pre-shredded cheese for those days that you actually 'can't even'.
Abbie (one of my good friends and blog partner in crime) asked me for a good mac and cheese recipe for a Christmas holiday party last month. The next day she told me she threw in 2 cans of green chilis and said it was like insanely delicious and added this amazing flavor without overpowering the classic deliciousness of macaroni and cheese. The base starts with a classic macaroni and cheese roux and gets spiced up with classic green chilis. The flavor combo makes for almost a mild queso taste. The whole dish comes together in about twenty minutes and you don't even have to be an avid cook to throw it together. If you're looking for the easiest comfort food then you should totally give this a try! Its one of those great recipes to have in your pocket when you need to make something, out of nothing.
Enjoy! xoxo
Stovetop Green Chili Macaroni and Cheese
1 Lb (16oz) of macaroni pasta
1/4 Cup of unsalted butter
1/4 Cup of all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
2 1/2 Cups of milk (I used 2%)
2 Cups of fontina cheese, shredded
1 Cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 4.5 Oz Cans of mild green chilis
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1/4 Teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 Teaspoon of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 Cup of Italian panko breadcrumbs
Bring a large stock pot of water to a rolling boil and add in pasta. Cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set a aside.
In a large saute pan melt 1/4 cup of unsalted butter on medium heat. Add flour to melted butter and cook for 2 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add in minced garlic and whisk once more to avoid burning. Add milk to butter-flour mixture and turn heat up to medium high. Whisk mixture occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until boiling, and until the sauce has thickened. Remove mixture from heat and whisk in cheeses to mixture until melted. Stir in canned green chilis, cayenne, nutmeg and salt & pepper. Stir in mixture to macaroni noodles. Let noodles and cheese mixture combine for 2-3 minutes before serving. Top with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and serve!
