Crispy Baked Chicken Strips and Mac & Cheese

Let me first start off by saying that I love the Food Network! One of my favorite shows is called Good Eats. Alton Brown is the host of the show and a genius if you ask me! His shows are full of great recipes, but he also tells you the science behind why you do things a certain way to make your recipe work.



Yes, I guess you could say that I'm a food geek! Anyway, back to my post. I found this recipe by Alton Brown for homemade mac & cheese awhile back. Ive made it many, many times and never been disappointed. I do, however, make some changes. I will post his original recipe, but put my changes in parentheses ().

Source:Food Network

Ingredients

1/2 pound of elbow macaroni
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups of milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced (I leave this out, since Jeremy doesnt like onions)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, grated (I use a bit less than 1/2 pound of velveeta in the actual dish, I like the way it melts better. I use shredded cheddar on the top instead of the bread crumbs)
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

topping
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup of panko break crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes to make the sauce thicker and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.



To go along with this fabulous mac & cheese, I need an equally fabulous main dish. I searched through some food blogs and found this recipe by Bridget from The Way the Cookie Crumbles. Who doesnt love chicken strips, especially with mac & cheese? I loved the way that these are baked, not friend, but they still have that crunch to them when you bite in! The brine really does give a lot of flavor to the actual chicken.

1/4 cup table salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips (I used chicken breast tenderloins)
1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp (1/2 stick butter), melted
2 cups finely crushed corn flakes cereal

Dissolve the salt in 1 quart cold water. Add the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove the cutlets from the brine and pat dry.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400F. Place an oven-safe baking rack in a baking sheet.

Place the flour and butter in separate small bowls. Add the crushed cereal to a medium-sized bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the flour, then the butter, then the cereal. Place the coated chicken strips on the baking rack in the baking sheet.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Serve.