King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese - Revisiting Comfort Food

When last we met, my house was overrun with painters. Furniture, boxes and everything else had been moved to the middle of each room and life was, generally, in chaos.

Well, the painters are gone, leaving all the trim in the house looking shiny and new. Of course, the entire house still smells like oil-based paint, so, in an effort to overcome those odors, I've done a little bit of baking. Brownies came first. You can find that recipe here. Then some good old chocolate chip cookies. But for dinner, I wanted some real comfort food. Something that smelled yummy.

So , as I stared at the leftover chicken in my fridge, I remembered this delicious King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese casserole that I shared a good while back. I absolutely love this dish and since I had everything on hand, it's what I fixed.

So here's what you're gonna need:

• 8 oz elbow macaroni (the boxes are usually 16 oz, so half a box)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (aka Rotel)
• 1 - 8 oz pkg. pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed (Velveeta, y'all)
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

First, we want to preheat our oven to 350 degrees. G'head. I'll wait while you do it.

Now, cook your pasta according to the package directions for al dente.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, and saute 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir in your tomatoes and green chilies and Velveeta.

And cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese melts.

Now, stir in your chicken, the soup, sour cream, chili powder, and cumin.

Obviously, I need to keep stirring. 

Then we'll add in our pasta and stir until blended.

This is smelling SOOOO yummy.

Spoon mixture into a lightly greased oblong baking dish or cast iron skillet and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly.



And serve. 

 This pleased me on so many levels. It made the house smell good, my taste buds were happy and all that combined put me in a better mood. Even if most of the rooms still have stuff shoved to the middle. The carpet guys can take care of that next week, right?

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and kids. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com.