Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese (slightly adapted from Sweet Anna’s, Servings: 6, Total Time: 25 minutes)
Ingredients
· 1 Tbsp. olive oil
· 1 clove garlic, minced
· 3-4 large fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
· 1 cup water
· ½ cup skim milk
· 8 oz. fat-free or Neufchatel cream cheese
· 2 cups shredded taco cheese
· salt & pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain.2. While the noodles are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and preheat the broiler of your oven to Low.
3. In the heated skillet, drizzle in the olive oil & then add the jalapeños and garlic, sautéing until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the water, milk & cream cheese, stirring often until melted and smooth. Turn off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Taste and add salt & pepper to taste.
5. When the noodles are done, toss them in with the cheese mixture and if your skillet is oven-proof place in the oven. If it is not oven-proof, place mixture into oven-proof dish and then pop into oven.
6. Broil for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.
7. Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.
When I picked up my bi-weekly CSA bag, I had one large jalapeno, a habanero, and two red chilies. My first thought was “What am I going to do with these since I just made salsa?” As I’m sure you know by reading other entries, my husband is not in love with hot food – although he is better than he used to be, he’s still not up to my level of heat. So, I went online to find something, anything, that would appease both of our palettes. I saw this recipe and thought that it was a good option considering all of the dairy products – they would help dampen the heat down. I made it two days after receiving my veggies. Unfortunately, in that short time, my jalapeno rotted, but the habanero and the chilies were still good.
I made a few adjustments to the original recipe to cut back on fat and calories – using skim milk instead of heavy cream, fat-free cream cheese instead of full-fat, and eliminating the parmesan and tortilla chips. I think it turned out great – still very cheesy and tasty, with just a bit of kick. My husband even liked it – and ate most of the leftovers! A win in my book! I used medium shells as the past, and I think that was a great idea because the cheese really coated the little openings to the pasta. I will let you know that the cheese congeals when it cools. Maybe using Neufchatel cheese instead of fat-free is good (fat-free also takes a while to melt down). I like this dish and intend on making it again.
