Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese

Loyal readers, I have finally outdone myself. Well, technically Rachael Ray did. I just made her recipe. Wow. All I have to say is I have a new favorite mac and cheese. I have a love affair with jalapeno poppers. At a market near us they have a ton of prepared foods, which of course include jalapeno poppers. Every time I go grocery shopping I get one lonely jalapeno to eat on my way home. Is this bizarre? I never realized it might be until I just typed it out. Crap. Please try not to judge me.

Jalapeno poppers are so delicious to me because you get the spiciness of the jalapeno, creaminess of the cream cheese and crunch from the super crunchy bread crumb coating. I am literally salivating at the thought of eating them. Imagine my surprise when I saw Rachael Ray had a recipe for jalapeno popper mac and cheese. I was in heaven. I actually ended up using poblano peppers because the jalapeno peppers at the market were really small so I would have needed like five of them. What's good about this recipe is that you can use as much or as little heat as you want by choosing how many peppers to put in. I actually grilled the poblano and it gave it a great smokey flavor. The cream cheese also added so much creaminess to the sauce. And in case anyone is lactose intolerant, I made this with almond milk( unsweetened) and it came out perfectly. I was afraid it would not thicken up, but it did!

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound hollow, ridged corkscrew pasta, such as cavatappi ( I used whole wheat elbows)
• EVOO, for drizzling
• 3 jalapeno chiles, seeded and sliced
• 2 serrano chiles, seeded and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 cups shredded monterey jack

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
2. While the pasta is working, in a skillet, heat a drizzle of EVOO over medium heat. Add the jalapenos, serranos and garlic and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Add to the pasta.
3. Preheat the broiler. In a saucepan, add the milk, cream cheese and dried onion over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until smooth, about 5 minutes; add to the pasta. Stir in the cheese; season with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer the pasta to a baking dish; broil until browned, about 3 minutes.