We're talking THREE cheeses, tender garlic chicken pieces and a golden, crunchy topping. Not forgetting the creamiest delicious sauce (no cream included!).
As a husband and wife blogger team, what do we do all day?
- Spend too long on Facebook whilst walking back and forth to the fridge for snacks? (yes)
- Go for working lunches, but spend so long obsessing over the food we end up getting next to nothing done? (yes again)
- Work a couple of hours a day, then slack off and watch some TV? (If only! minimum 10 hour days over here)
- Occasionally want to strangle each other when we get into an argument over something silly like Chris's certainty that we need a drone. (I mean come on. Who needs a drone?)
When Arla asked us to try switching to Arla Organic Free Range milk, and to see how it would fit into our daily routine, it's fair to say that routine continued (as always) to revolve around food, and coffee. Lots of coffee.
I made the creamiest Mac and Cheese using plenty of whole milk along with 3 different cheeses. 🧡💛
Devoured by all, the small amount that was leftover was requested for tea the following night too!
Check out our video below. Yep, that's Lewis at the end asking for a hot chocolate. He'd drink it instead of water if I let him.
I much prefer the hot chocolate made with milk, rather than the instant kind made with water.
Did you know a 200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk provides:
-
- 31% of adults reference intake of recommended daily calcium (which is needed for maintenance of normal bone and teeth)
- 74% of our recommended daily Vitamin B12 (which contributes to normal function of the immune system)
Must drink more coffees with milk 😁
Mac and Cheese with Garlic Chicken Recipe:
Mac and Cheese with Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
Garlic Chicken
- 1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 chicken breasts - sliced into strips
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- 2 cloves minced garlic
Mac n Cheese:
- 400 g elbow macaroni
- 2 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion - finely chopped
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 600 ml Arla Organic whole milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 100 g cheddar cheese - grated
- 90 g red Leicestershire cheese - grated
- 35 g mozzarella cheese - grated
- 120 g panko breadcrumbs
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Small bunch fresh parsley - chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F and put a large pan of water on to boil ready for the macaroni.
- Starting with the garlic chicken, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt. Cook for around 5 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked, then add the minced garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a chopping board and slice into chunks.
- By now the water should be boiling. Add in the macaroni and cook as per the pack instructions. Then drain in a colander.
- Meanwhile, add the butter to the frying pan that you cooked the chicken in and heat on a medium heat until melted. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the flour until it coats the onion, then a splash at a time, add the milk. Stir with a whisk between each addition of milk until all the milk is used and the sauce has no floury lumps.
- Continue to stir whilst heating until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the salt and pepper, half the cheddar and all of the red Leicestershire. Stir until thickened, then turn off the heat.
- Add the cooked macaroni and chicken to a large oven-proof dish, and pour over the sauce. Stir together, then sprinkle on the remaining cheddar and the mozzarella.
- Place the panko, salt, pepper, paprika and oil in a bowl and stir together to lightly coat the panko in the oil, then sprinkle the panko on top of the macaroni.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Video
✎ Notes
Nutrition
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CJ says
Most of this recipe was great but my whole family was put off by the breadcrumbs on top. They didn't bake in very well, and stayed as a powder on top of the dish that mixed in with the pasta when it was served. It took away from the creaminess of the dish, and that's one of the best parts about mac and cheese! Overall I would make this again but I'd skip the breadcrumbs.
Diana Lopes says
Yum, mac and cheese is a match made in heaven already, I can't even believe there are ways to make it better. But there are and this recipe is proof!
2pots2cook says
Love the addition of bread crumbs ! Thank you !
MM says
Mac n Cheese is one of my granddaughters favourite dishes. I'm looking after her tomorrow so this is going to make one little girl very happy when I make it for tea.