Pesto Mac & Cheese

Mac and cheese is sooo easy to make from scratch. And it's so easy to change it up! You can do a plain cheese sauce, add some cayenne and paprika for some spice, or add garlic and herbs for something more sophisticated. Add chicken and veggies or just veggies or add nothing! Once you know the ratios for a basic white sauce, the possibilities are endless. Monday nights I try to do a meatless meal for dinner. I had planned to make biscuits and fruit and veggie smoothies but we were prepping for the blizzard Tuesday and it was cold and the wind was howling and all I could think about was a bowl of warm, gooey, mac and cheese. I had some pesto in the freezer and thought it would be really delicious in the mac and cheese so I just went for it! It was REALLY delicious!

Ingredients:
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 c milk
1/3-1/2 c prepared pesto (I was just eye balling as I went along, so just make sure you're tasting as you go along, but you could add as much pesto as you want!)
2 c shredded cheddar (I like my mac and cheese really cheesy so feel free to use less if you want)
Salt and pepper to taste
10 oz small pasta (shells, elbows, etc.) cooked to package directions

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for about 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add your pesto and stir well to combine. Add the cheese and turn off the heat. Stir until the cheese is melted. Season to taste. Pour sauce over cooked noodles.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

When drumsticks go on sale, it's really hard not to buy them at 69 cents a pound. I am not crazy about dark meat, but 69 cents a pound! I have my family's oven fried chicken recipe that uses drumsticks that I really like and this honey-ginger drumstick recipe that I love! But I always like to try new things. I have made fried chicken only a couple times before and it was good every time, but I always felt like it could be better. So I spent a lot of time reading a LOT of fried chicken recipes. There are so many different techniques. To brine or not to brine? Buttermilk or egg? Breadcrumbs or no breadcrumbs? After lots of research I decided to just go for it!

Ingredients:
12-16 drumsticks
Water
Kosher Salt
3 c buttermilk
2 T Sriracha
Salt and pepper to taste
3 c flour
2 1/2 T each garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika
1 T kosher salt
2 tsp cayenne
1 head of garlic cut in half through the middle, skin left on
Vegetable oil for frying

Place drumsticks in a large bowl (you can use 2 if needed). Measure 4 cups of water and stir in 1 tsp of kosher salt. Pour over chicken. Repeat until chicken is totally covered by water. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours. You can let it sit in this solution for as long as over night if you want to. When chicken is almost done in the solution, get everything else ready. In a bowl mix the butter milk and Sriracha together and then season with a little salt and pepper. In another bowl, mix the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and cayenne together. Drain the chicken and pat dry. Working with 3 or 4 drumsticks at a time, add to the buttermilk mixture. I let about 4 drumsticks sit in the buttermilk for about 10 minutes. While they were sitting in the buttermilk, I got a sheet pan out and lined it with parchment paper. I also got a heavy bottom pan out and filled about 3/4 full with vegetable oil. Move the drumsticks to the flour and put more drumsticks into the buttermilk. Coat the drumsticks completely in the flour mixture. Put it on the sheet pan to rest. Meanwhile, take the garlic cut in half and put it in the oil. Don't add any heat yet to the pan. Take the drumsticks in the buttermilk and move to the flour to completely coat and then rest on the sheet pan. Repeat until all drumsticks have been dredged in buttermilk and flour. Heat the oil to 325-350 degrees. Once the temperature reaches 325 degrees on a deep fry thermometer, remove the garlic and any skin that may have fallen off and discard. Add 4 drumsticks into the oil. Let cook for 6 minutes on the first side. Turn them to the other side and let cook for another 4-6 more minutes or until internal temp reaches 160-165. (Chicken will come up a few more degrees while resting so I do mine to 160 and let come up to 165) Sprinkle with salt as soon as it comes out of the oil and repeat with all drumsticks. My favourite thing to do with fried chicken is to drizzle it with honey when it's still hot so it just kind of melts over the whole thing... This chicken was so crispy, juicy, and just a little bit spicy. I will probably keep experimenting with fried chicken, but this was an excellent start!