Q: What Do You Get When You Cross A Chicken With A Guitar?

A: A Chicken That Makes Music When You Pluck It.

About two years ago I posted a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Macaroni And Cheese. It was incredibly good, but really rich with about 2 pounds of cheese, 1/2 quart of half and half and some sour cream, too.

While I adore rich food, I also appreciate recipes that are packed with flavor yet don’t scream their caloric content at you. This Buffalo Chicken Mac Casserole is one such recipe. It tastes like a basket of Buffalo Wings in pasta form.

Buffalo Chicken Mac Casserole

Ingredients:

12 ounces elbow pasta
2 tablespoons oil
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 medium stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup cornstarch
4 cups low-fat milk
5 tablespoons hot sauce, preferably Frank’s RedHot
4 oz crumbled blue cheese
Blue cheese or ranch dressing and additional hot sauce, to serve

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles until barely tender, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside.

3. Heat oil in the pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

4. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside, 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Whisk cornstarch and milk in a medium bowl; add to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, until bubbling and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in hot sauce.

6. Spread the noodles in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with the chicken mixture; sprinkle with blue cheese.

7. Bake the casserole until it is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

8. Drizzle each serving with blue cheese dressing and additional hot sauce, if you like.

Serves 8

Recipe from EatingWell.com

I heard this song while running this morning. It was dark. My mind was clearing and gearing up for the day. Then, Boom! ‘Fairy’ put me back into dreamland.

Lighter than air, vocals floating over the lazy beat and lyrics just off enough to grab, it put me in the best mood.

“Take a seat and put your arms around me
I’ll cut my nails”

Check out Jassadezz on Bandcamp, where you can buy their music. The band is giving away last year’s release, ‘Panta Rhei’ for free.

Cheers!