Ok y'all, for those who aren't familiar with the Bill Self Mac & Cheese from 23rd St Brewery in Lawrence, KS please allow me to enlighten you. Their rich mac & cheese is topped with buffalo chicken tenders. It is the kind of meal you want after having a few too many celebratory drinks when KU wins a basketball game (very often occurrence for KU students), but I also shutter to think about the caloric and fat impact. Honestly, when I was a KU student I ate it whenever the craving struck because it was worth the calorie hit every time, but fast forward to post-college life and I found myself craving this indulgence, but faced two issues 1) Kansas City is too far for a quick pop-over to 23rd St Brewery and 2) I wanted a better-for-me version than the real deal. For those reasons I got to work on perfecting my healthier version which subs clean ingredients and a few calorie saving moves like subbing shredded rotisserie chicken for the tenders. I hope all of you (Jayhawks and non-Jayhawks alike) will enjoy one of our favorite comfort foods!
Cleaned-Up Bill Self Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
8 oz pasta- Banza rotini, penne, or cavatappi suggested, but can use preferred
1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce- Noble Made by New Primal is our fav brand
1/2 cup Alfredo sauce- option to swap to cauliflower Alfredo (linked my fav recipe from Spinach4Breakfast)
1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Boil 8 cups of water then add pasta and cook for 7 minutes. Once al dente, drain and rinse. (if using Banza- otherwise follow box instructions)
3) Pour pasta into 2qt baking dish and mix in Alfredo sauce.
4) Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over pasta.
5) Toss chicken in buffalo sauce then evenly layer on top of pasta+cheese.
6) Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top.
7) Bake for 10 minutes.
8) Optional: drizzle 1-2 tbsp buffalo sauce on top if desired (definitely suggest this step).
This recipe is easily the most requested from Taylor so I hope that you and your family or friends fall in love with this cleaned up version of a Lawrence classic! If you make it, be sure to show it off on Instagram and tag @breadandkaleenthusiast so I can see your creations too.
Ps this is the first in a series of #CleanedUpLawrenceCravings I'll be sharing so let me know if you have any requests!
-Lauren
