Buffalo Chicken Mac n' Cheese

 You've got to smell it to believe it!  No kidding...this dish is incredible!  It wasn't a pleasure to make.  I always freak out a little when making a rue and then turning that into a cheese sauce.  The timing is just too much pressure!  Despite my mini-panic attacks, this came out delicious!

First, I bought a family size rotisserie chicken and shredded it up.  I saved the legs for our lunches.  I also took this opportunity to cook up 1 pound of elbow macaroni.

Then, I melted 3 tbsp of butter and cooked 1 small chopped onion and about 3 stalks of celery. 
Once the onions and celery were softened, I added 3 cloves of mined garlic and the shredded chicken.  After it all heated through, I added 1/2 cup of Frank's wing sauce, stirred, and transferred to a bowl.

In the same pan, I melted 2 more tablespoons of butter.  Careful not to burn it!  At this point the pan is pretty hot and the hot sauce residue can burn.  I added 2 tbsp flour and 2 tsp of dry mustard and stirred it until it turned into a paste...cue panic attack!  I added 2 1/2 cups of half and half and whisked.  Then I added about 1/4 cup of more hot sauce and continued to whisk.  Once this thickened (continue panic attack), I added 1 pound...yes 1 pound...of shredded cheddar cheese and 8 oz. of shredded pepper jack cheese.  I whisked this until it got smooth.  I didn't looove the texture, but I added 2/3 cup of sour cream to loosen it up.

Into a 9x13 buttered baking pan, I added half of the macaroni, all of the chicken mixture, the rest of the macaroni, and topped with all of that thick and creamy cheese sauce.  In a separate bowl, I mixed together 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp of melted butter, 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles, and about 2 tbsp of chopped parsley.  Then I topped off my delicious mac n' cheese!

This went into the oven for about 40 minutes until the panko got brown and crispy and the cheese was nice and bubbly.  I even topped it off with some more buffalo sauce for color and Ian's passion for hot and spicy food. 

 Delicious!  A little spicy...but what good is a buffalo wing if it isn't spicy??? 

PS...these pictures are awful!  The picture does not accurately represent the how amazing this meal actually was.