It’s swap time again! The theme this month was Mexican food and I received a recipe for Cream Cheese Enchiladas from Carrie’s Sweet Life. I read only the name of the dish and raised my eyebrows. I jumped to the conclusion that these were going to be filled with cream cheese and only cream cheese.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love cream cheese. Seriously. But the thought of eating a cream cheese enchilada was a bit too much for me. I read on and was very relieved to see that there were several other ingredients in the enchiladas in addition to cream cheese. Whew!
I absolutely loved these. They were super simple to make and had a great flavor, too. I followed in Carrie’s footsteps and made the filling and shredded all the cheese the night before. Then, the next day I assembled and baked them off. While they were in the oven I threw together a quick apple slaw to go with it.
Lightened Up Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas slightly adapted from Carrie’s Sweet Life
1 package Neufchatel or reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 cup prepared salsa (I used some homemade stuff I canned last summer)
1 cup shredded colby cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
8-8 inch flour tortillas
Preheat oven to 325°F.
In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and Greek yogurt until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa, 1/2 cup colby, and 1/2 cup cheddar.
In a separate bowl, mix chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Fold into cheese mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
Spread 1/2 cup salsa into the bottom of a large baking dish.
Place 1/3 – 1/2 cup of filling into the bottom third of a tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour remaining 1/2 cup salsa on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and center of enchiladas are hot. Serve immediately.
Thanks to Taste of Home Cooking for organizing! Make sure to check out the other recipe swap posts!
There are some days where I just don’t have the time (or energy) to cook an elaborate meal. I’ve come to love quick, easy dinners that I can throw together in a half hour.
There are some sweet & sour meatball recipes that use only 3 ingredients: frozen meatballs, grape jelly, and chili sauce. I couldn’t even bring myself to consider making it. Instead, I opted to make meatballs from scratch (easy!) and sauce from scratch (easier!). Sure, it took a little longer to whip together than the 3 ingredient meatballs, but it’s well worth it to me! The meatballs are super tender and I love the sauce. I also love the fact that I can pour a healthy dose of Sriracha on top.
The only part that beats the fact that it is so simple to make is that this made a LOT of food. That means that Mike and I were able to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a couple days 😉 If you’re cooking for a small group, you may want to cut the recipe in half.
Sweet & Sour Meatballs with Peppers adapted from All Recipes
for the meatballs:
2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
2 eggs
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped or grated onion
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
for the sauce: 2 – 20 ounce cans pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved
1 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 large onion, chopped
2 red or yellow bell peppers, sliced
white or brown rice, for serving
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
To make the meatballs: combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix by hand until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Shape into 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pour reserved pineapple juice into a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, corn starch, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
Stir in pineapple chunks, onion, bell peppers, and meatballs into the sauce. Gently stir to combine and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
I love blogger’s choice swaps. It means I get to spend hours (yes, hours) perusing another blog. The only downside is that it’s nearly impossible to just choose one dish to make. This time was no different. The blog I was assigned was Cookaholic Wife. Again, I ended up with over a dozen dishes I wanted to make. I generally lean towards desserts, but the jalapeno popper pizza caught my eye.
Jalapenos. All over a pizza. With a jalapeno ranch dressing. And bacon.
Yes, please!
I’ve been craving pizza ever since I made the BBQ Chicken Pizza and this one definitely hit the spot. If you can’t really handle the heat from the peppers, feel free to cut back on the amount you put on. I may or may not have put extra slices on mine because I love spicy foods 🙂
for the pizza dough: 3 cups all purpose flour
1 – .25 ounce package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water (~110°F)
for the jalapeno ranch dressing: 1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed
1 green onion, ends trimmed
1 clove of garlic
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup light mayo
1 tablespoon cilantro
salt and pepper, to taste
2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
for the pizza toppings: 2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
To make the dough: Fit stand mixer with dough hook. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Pour in oil and water. Mix on low speed until dough pulls away from side of bowl and gathers around hook and is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a large lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set aside and let rise for 30 – 40 minutes.
To make the dressing: combine all ingredients except for the cream cheese using a hand blender, food processor, or blender. Mix until smooth. Mix in cream cheese until well combined.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place pizza stone in oven and let it heat for at least 30 minutes.
Stretch prepared pizza dough into a circle 12″ in diameter. Fold edges over to create a crust.
Spread jalapeno ranch dressing over dough and sprinkle cheese on top. Top with jalapeno slices and bacon.
Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until cheese has melted and crust is lightly browned. Serve immediately.
Thanks to Taste of Home Cooking for organizing! Make sure to check out the other recipe swap posts!
This post two-for-one deal. It’s a running and recipe post all rolled into one! Let me start the race recap with my Saturday. In my last post I talked about my nervousness and how I planned on dealing with it. So, what did I do all weekend?
Well, like I had said before, Mike and I went to the Cellcom Race Expo and picked up my race packet. We bought a running hat (for him) and some more running capris (for me) there. We then headed over to Hinterland for some beer & food. It was so good. We decided to sit in the lounge and I’m so glad we did. The space is really neat – we snagged a corner booth that had a nice view of the downtown area. The service and food were amazing. We’re already planning on next trip back – I’m sad they are a 40 minute trip away, but it’s definitely worth it.
We drank: Cherry Wheat (Crisp, cool and refreshing. Brewed using tart Door County cherries from Seaquist Orchards) and Bourbon Barrel Dopplebock (Dark amber color. Full-bodied. Pronounced notes of caramel and oak with a smooth bourbony finish. Aged 10.5 months). Both were delish.
We ate: Caprine supreme goat cheese curds with kimchee ketchup and Nueske’s smoked chicken pizza (maple bock barbecue, mango, chives, goat cheese). The cheese curds were different than any cheese curd I’ve had before – they were light and fluffy and the kimchee ketchup was awesome. The pizza was, of course, delish as well. I loved the addition of the mango.
Saturday, we wasted the day away at home and ran some errands. I felt sick with anticipation almost all day. I was refreshing the weather on my iPad every hour (definitely wasn’t helping). I ended up throwing together dinner early at around 5:00 so we could eat early and get to bed by 9:00.
Some people have certain foods they need to stay away from before race day. I’ve found that I can eat almost anything, but it’s best if I stay away from fiber and copious amounts of grease. I ended up making a dish with chicken sausage and bell peppers with a pasta salad side. I loved that this meal was filling, easy, and my stomach handled it perfectly.
Chicken Sausage & Peppers
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
12 ounces fully cooked chicken sausage*, cut into 1 1/2 – 2″ pieces
2 bell peppers, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in onions and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until they start to soften.
Add in sausage and bell peppers and cook until sausage is heated through, 3 – 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*I used Johnsonville’s Chicken Sausage – Chipotle Montery Jack in my dish. I’ve had this type before and love it so I used it again instead of trying something new.
Easy Spinach Pasta Salad
12 ounces farfalle or other small pasta
1 teaspoon garlic olive oil or plain olive oil*
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and immediately toss with garlic olive oil. Toss warm cooked pasta with spinach, onion, tomato and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
*I used a garlic evoo from a local store, The Olive Cellar. Love the place and will never buy olive oil (or balsamic) from any other place.
After eating a fair amount of this, Mike and I turned in for the night. He tried to calm my nerves by playing the Fun Run episode from The Office. It worked 🙂
Now, that brings us to Sunday: race day. Mike and I rolled out of bed at around 4:00 that morning and I nervously ate a banana and some Quaker Oatmeal Squares. I chugged a little water and then we were off to Green Bay. We weather was beautiful at first. Here’s a picture of me – all happy that it was race day and ready to conquer Cellcom once again.
I got about 2 miles in before I realized just how hot and humid it was. Last year was hotter, but this year was much more humid. I do not handle humidity or heat very well. Put the two together and well… I’m a goner. Let’s just say that there aren’t many pictures I want to post of my grossness mid-run. I will, however, share with you the pics Mike snapped during my last mile in Lambeau Field!
I may look happy and full of energy in the above photos, but miles 2 – 12 were killer. I was dragging and just mentally d-o-n-e with it all. After I crossed the finish line and found Mike, I loaded up on brats and beer. I got my picture taken with a complete stranger (??) and then changed into dry clothes before heading back out to Lambeau and cheering on the marathoners and snapping a few more pics.
I wish I could say that everything was perfect. That I hit my goal time. That I PRed. But none of that is true. I debated sharing my time with the world because I was embarrassed at first. Then, I realized that all runners have good days and bad days. I just happened to have a bad day. And even though my time was 2:27 and I finished nearly 15 minutes after my goal time, I still did better than the person I was just 2 1/2 years ago. I used to be someone who couldn’t run for 20 seconds straight and struggled through Day 1 of Couch to 5k for a solid week.
There’s something about a perfect burger that just screams “summer”! Even though it’s only spring, and even though it’s been a fairly cold spring so far, this burger made everything a-okay. I forgot for a few hours that summer was still forever away. Mike and I enjoyed these burgers with some grilled asparagus, grilled potato wedges, and of course, some fresh whisky sours.
Whiskey BBQBurgers with Caramelized Onions & Cheddar serves 4
for the whiskey barbecue sauce: 1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup bourbon
for the caramelized onions: 1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon brown sugar
for the burgers:
1 pound ground beef
salt and pepper
4 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
4 kaiser rolls, lightly toasted
To make the whiskey barbecue sauce: combine all barbecue sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes, or until thick.
To caramelize the onions: heat olive oil and butter in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Add in onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add in brown sugar and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized and soft, another 10 – 15 minutes.
To make the burgers: shape beef into 4 even patties. Make a depression in the middle of each patty with your thumb. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a grill to high heat and cook burgers until slightly charred and browned on one side. Flip and cook burgers on second side until browned and slightly charged. Top with sliced cheddar cheese during last minute of cooking.
To assemble burgers: place a patty onto the bottom of roll. Slather with barbecue sauce and top with a heaping spoonful of caramelized onions. Top with other side of the roll and serve immediately.
I love burritos. I especially love the as-big-as-your-face abominations from Qdoba and Chipotle. If I spend a day with my college friends, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find us at either a Qdoba or Chipotle at some point during the day. After all, we can’t live on beer and whiskey alone. But apparently beer, whiskey, and burritos = well rounded diet.
Some habits die hard. It’s been 3 years since we graduated, but our drinking and eating patterns during our weekends together are essentially the same. The only difference is now instead of drinking Milwaukee’s Best Light, we drink something a little classier like Miller High Life ;).
Anyway, back to the burritos. Up until now, I’ve never had a baked burrito. Baking these until they developed a perfectly crunchy outside brought the burrito to a whole new level. I ate one and died of happiness. So I ate another. I instantly regretted it, but it was just so… good. So learn from my mistake – eat only one. They are very, very filling.
Beef and Bean Baked Burritos with Creamy Poblano Sauce adapted from Elly Says Opa
for the burritos:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 pound 93% lean ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 1/4 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
8 large whole wheat tortillas
olive oil cooking spray
for the creamy poblano sauce: 1 poblano pepper, roasted and chopped (see step 2)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
To roast the poblano for the sauce: place inside a medium baking dish. Bake in preheated oven and turn every 6 – 8 minutes until skin is blistered on all sides, about 25 minutes total. Place in a clean kitchen towel and wrap up. Let cool slightly and rub the skin off the pepper with the towel. Remove the stem, seeds, and ribs.
To make the burritos: heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add in ground beef and cook and stir to break up the meat. Cook until well browned. Add in garlic and tomato paste and stir well to combine.
Add in black beans, beef broth, cumin , oregano, chili powder, cayenne, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
To assemble the burritos: place 2 – 4 tablespoons of cheese at the end of a tortilla and spoon in some of the beef mixture over the cheese. Fold the left and right sides of the tortilla in and then roll the tortilla up, starting from the end closest to you. Place seam-side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spray tops of burritos with cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned and crispy, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in chopped roasted poblano and jalapenos. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until flour is lightly browned, about 1 – 2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Let cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in Greek yogurt and cilantro. Serve over baked burritos.
Wow, I can’t believe it’s May already! Time has been absolutely flying by. I feel like whenever I have deadlines looming in future time just gets away from me. Right now the deadlines are mostly work-related, but my impending half marathon is also out there. I have been only half-heartedly training so it should be interesting. I’m just hoping the weather will be nicer this year! Last year, they shut the race down just minutes after I crossed the finish line due to the extreme heat.
Last Friday I spoke briefly about how I had found so many great recipes on Kim’s blog, Feed Me, Seymour. I had to choose just one recipe for the swap, but I couldn’t stop myself from making another dish. So, today I share with you the other dish – garlic lime chicken enchiladas.
I adapted her recipe slightly and made a homemade enchilada sauce and used Mexican rice instead of plain white rice. If I’m ever short on time I will definitely use a canned sauce and white rice – this dish is so full of flavor that I’m sure it’s just as tasty the original way!
If you notice that the enchiladas seem a bit squished in the photo, well, it’s because they are. I couldn’t find my 9×13 pan anywhere. I tore the kitchen apart looking for it and finally settled on using a smaller pan. I “found” the 9×13 pan a week later when my mom returned it to me 😉 Guess I need to keep better track of my bakeware, huh?
Mexican rice: 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cloves minced garlic
1 thinly sliced red onion
juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups cooked Mexican rice (recipe above)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped and divided
2 cups enchilada sauce (recipe above)
1 tsp. olive oil
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese
To make the enchilada sauce, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour and chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly brown. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Cook for 10 – 15 more minutes, until slightly thickened.
To make the rice, heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add in onion and saute until translucent, 3 – 4 minutes. Add in garlic and rice and cook until rice is slightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and fluff with a fork.
To make the enchiladas, preheat oven to 375°F. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute onions until slightly soft. Add in garlic and saute for an additional minute. Stir in lime juice, cayenne pepper, and tomato paste.
Remove pan from heat and add in chicken, Mexican rice, and half the cilantro. Stir to combine.
To assemble: place tortillas on a clean surface. Put 2 large spoonfuls of filling onto each tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam side down in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce on top of tortillas and top with shredded cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Okay, so I’m a bit of a bad dietitian. I don’t eat fish once a week. Or even once a month, honestly. I can’t really tell you why. I like it, but it just never seems to make it into my menu plan. I almost always have a salmon and tilapia in my freezer, but I very rarely reach for it when I’m putting dinner together. Hmm. Something’s gotta change. To start us off? This delicious salad. This salad isn’t your traditional mostly-lettuce salad. Don’t get me wrong – I love my mostly veggie salads. I eat one for lunch every day during the work week. But sometimes a basic veg salad just doesn’t hit the spot. But this salad most definitely does. It is chock-full of all sorts of goodies from salmon to artichoke hearts to feta to… well, everything I love. I made this again a couple weeks later and forgot the feta and it still tasted great. Best of all, it was super easy to put together. From start to finish, it only took about 20 minutes.
for the dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
for the salad:
1 pound salmon filet
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup orzo
1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
1 bell pepper, chopped (~3/4 cup)
1/2 red onion, chopped (~3/4 cup)
5 ounces feta, crumbled
14 ounce can of artichoke hearts, quartered
2 cups spring salad mix
dressing (see above)
To make the dressing: whisk all ingredients together and set aside.
To make the salad: Preheat broiler to high. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, and oregano. Place under broiler and cook for 5 minutes, or until center is cooked.
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and place into a large bowl. Pour 1/4 cup dressing over pasta and gently toss. Add in olives, bell pepper, red onion, feta, artichoke hearts, and salad mix to orzo and toss to combine.
Flake salmon with two forks and place on top of salad. Serve with additional dressing on the side.
Nothing quite beats a good plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I have been looking for ways to use up the cans of marinara I have in my pantry. You see, last summer our garden did really well. However, we planted mostly tomatoes. This meant that at the end of summer we had roughly a bajillion tomatoes in our garden. And as much as I love tomatoes, there was no way we could eat all of them. I decided to make salsa and marinara with the tomatoes. In hindsight, I wish I had canned whole tomatoes, because now I have a lot of marinara and salsa to use up.
So, this summer we plan to plant even more tomatoes. And I promise to be much smarter about how I go about canning them!!
I saw this recipe on Prevention RD and was intrigued – I’ve never put ricotta into my meatballs before. Since I’m always looking for new things to cook up, I decided to give it a try. The result? Absolutely delish. They were wonderful and tender and best of all, I was able to use up a jar of marinara 🙂
Ok, so this recipe was a total accident. A wonderful, delicious accident. You see, last weekend we went shopping and bought four types of cheese. Yes, four. I was supposed to buy cheddar, cheddar jack, mozzarella, and smoked gouda. But instead of buying smoked gouda, I accidentally bought buffalo jack. So, we went back to the store and got smoked gouda. So we ended up buying five types of cheese this weekend. They are now sitting happily with 3 other types of cheese in our fridge. I guess we really, really like cheese or something.
I had plans for four of the cheeses that we purchased, but since I wasn’t planning on buying a buffalo cheese, I obviously didn’t have anything to do with it. Yet. As I was making barbecue sauce it suddenly dawned on me – buffalo chicken mac & cheese. Bingo.
I encourage you to make this delicious, messy goodness. I definitely do not encourage you to calculate the nutritional info for this. It will make you cry. If you can’t find buffalo jack cheese, feel free to sub in a sharp cheddar.
Welcome to Wisconsin, folks.
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese adapted from Food Network
1 pound whole wheat macaroni
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 pound cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded
3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot or hot sauce of choice, divided
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, divided
1 jalapeño, minced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 cups skim milk
2 cups shredded buffalo jack cheese, divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly coat a 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil. Set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in celery and onion and cook until soft, about 3 – 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and chicken and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 2 more minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the hot sauce and 3/4 of the sliced green onions.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and mustard until smooth. Whisk in milk and remaining hot sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until thick, about 3 – 5 minutes. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of buffalo jack cheese and 3/4 cup of the cheddar cheese until smooth.
Spread half the pasta into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half the chicken mixture and half the cheese sauce. Repeat with the remaining pasta, chicken, and cheese sauce.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small dish and toss with panko to combine. Toss with remaining 1/2 cup buffalo jack cheese and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese. Sprinkle panko cheese crumbs on top of casserole.
Bake in preheated oven until bubbly, 30 – 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with remaining green onions before serving.
DoughSeeDough 