Rock Star Chicken Mac-N-Cheese

Why is it Rock Star Chicken Mac-N-Cheese? Because it's AWESOME!!

Me personally, I'm not really a fan of Mac-N-Cheese. Because I love my children, I include it in our menu. My youngest is faithful to order Mac-N-Cheese whenever we eat at a restaurant. I cringe at the idea of paying upwards of $5 for a small bowl of his favorite food, but it makes him happy and I know that it is something he will eat. In my mind the bigger problem would be me paying for chicken tenders or a burger and fries that he doesn't eat.

If my favorite restaurant served this....I would have no problem paying for it! I enjoyed this dish completely!!


Ingredients:

1 lb box of elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 (13 oz) can chicken breast, drained
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 large white onion, diced
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 cup prepared ranch salad dressing
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 can cheddar cheese soup
*paprika*

1 - Cook elbow macaroni in boiling water for approximately 8 minutes. Drain, return to pan.
2 - In a deep skillet - saute celery, onion, chicken, and butter until vegetables are beginning to become translucent.
3 - Add cheddar cheese soup, ranch dressing, hot sauce to chicken and vegetable mix. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes until contents are completely combined and thoroughly heated.
4 - Add cheesy chicken mixture to drained macaroni and stir well.
5 - Serve topped with paprika if desired.

Ground Beef Goulash

Ingredients:


3 cups dry macaroni, cooked & drained
1 1/2 lbs ground beef, browned & drained
2 cans stewed tomatoes (diced tomatoes...whatever is in the cabinet)


* Brown the ground beef, drain.

* Add tomatoes to ground beef and simmer on low while macaroni cooks.

* Bring large pot of water with 1 tsp salt and 1 TBS olive oil to a boil, add macaroni noodles and cook for 8 minutes.

* Drain macaroni, combine with ground beef and tomatoes in large pot.



My 14 year old cooked this for our dinner on Thursday night. He did an excellent job!! I know it is not the traditional Goulash recipe - but this was what my mom cooked and called Goulash in our house growing up. Instead of tomatoes from the store, we always used the quart sized home canned tomatoes from my grandmother's garden. A simple, yet very satisfying dish that reminds me of the good times I had with my mom growing up. Definitely, definitely comfort food!