I rarely measure my ingredients and even when I do… it’s “sorta” that amount. Today, while watching The Players’ Championship, I made a mac n cheese using the 111228 sample, which was the largest of the three I received.

Here’s what I did:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

After salting and peppering, I sautéed the chicken thighs in the sesame oil. I prefer thighs to breasts because they have more flavor and are juicier. Around The Manse, we only use local, fresh Foster Farms (never frozen).

While they were cooking, I chopped the onion and jalapeno and shredded the cheeses.

Once the chicken was cooked, I set it aside and once cool, I chopped it into bite size pieces, except for one which I chopped up for The Cat. He Loves fresh chicken and waits patiently by the stove while it cooks.

Using the oil and dripping from the chicken, I sautéed the onion and pepper until tender. I left the onion and jalapeno in the pan and added the ½ stick of butter to the pan.

Once the butter melted I added the flour and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes, to get rid of the flour taste.

Slowly, I added the milk, whisking as I added it and let it cook until it thickened, about 10 minutes. During this process, I cooked the pasta, al dente; knowing it would finish cooking in the oven.

When the cream sauce was ready I removed it from the heat; added the chicken and I folded in the cheeses stirring until fully incorporated into the cream sauce.

I oiled a 9X13 baking dish and added the pasta. I folded in the cheese sauce and topped with panko. Then I drizzled the melted butter on top and sprinkled with a little cayenne powder.

I baked it for 30 minutes and then broiled it for a couple to brown the top. I let it sit for 10 minutes.

When I served it, I topped it with the peas. I never cook the peas, just sit them out and add them at the end.

The Man swooned and I thought it was pretty darn good…--Marcella