One of my favorite side dishes for fall dinners is macaroni and cheese, and I am always trying to come up with new ways to change it up. Since everyones favorite part of home made mac and cheese is the crispy edges and topping I got to thinking "what if I browned each serving in the waffle iron?". Once I figured out how to do that I started thinking about what to do as a main dish with it and thought I would go with the obvious chicken.
It came out better than I hoped. The cheese crisped up perfectly, and the presentation was beautiful. The flavor was great, and the combination was a perfect dinner on a blustery fall night. Fat Boy Heaven can be about elegant meals and products, but sometimes it really is just about finding a new take on perfect comfort food.
Macaroni and Cheese Waffles
YIELD
Makes 4 waffles
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound dried macaroni
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing baking sheet
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cups whole milk
- Dash hot sauce, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 1/4 pounds grated cheddar cheese
- Maple syrup for serving (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place pasta in a large pot and cover with lukewarm water by 2 inches. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until pasta is tender, about 6 minutes after coming to a boil. Drain pasta.
- While pasta cooks, heat butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until melted. Add flour and cook, stirring, until pale golden blond. Slowly whisk in whole milk. Whisk in hot sauce and mustard. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and stir in 3/4 pounds grated cheese. Stir until melted. If smoother texture is desired, transfer to a blender and blend on high speed until glossy and smooth.
- When pasta is cooked, add cheese sauce and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a greased rimmed baking sheet and flatten with a spatula. Refrigerate until completely set, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat a waffle iron. Carefully cut macaroni and cheese into 8 even squares.
- Using a wide spatula, carefully lift one square and plate it on a cutting board. Cover top with 1/4 of remaining cheese. Place another square of macaroni on top of cheese, creating a sandwich.
- Place sandwich in waffle maker. Close and cook until golden brown on both sides and cheese has crisped up, about 6 minutes. Remove from waffle iron and serve with syrup and hot sauce. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for remaining waffles.
Fat Boy Breaded Baked Chicken
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 2 cups Panko Bread cumbs
- 2 Tbs. Johnnys Seasoning Salt
- 1 Egg
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400
- Cut or pound chicken into pieces no more than 1/2" thick
- Mix dry ingredients together in a shallow dish
- Beat egg in 2nd shallow dish
- Dip chicken pieces in egg, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture
- Place breaded pieces on foil-lined or un-greased baking pan
- Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes until internal temp reaches 165 degrees