Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac for Olympians - Rachael Ray

Name: Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac for Olympians - Rachael Ray
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO); 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves; 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 celery ribs, finely chopped; 5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon smoked paprika; 1 bay leaf; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 cups chicken stock; 1/4-1/2 cup hot sauce, depending on how hot you like it; 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes; 1 lb whole wheat elbow macaroni; 1/2 cup monterey jack pepper cheese; 2 scallions, root ends removed and thinly sliced

Submitted by Sommer_K

"I haven't made this yet, but I saw it on the Rachael Ray show yesterday and it sounds delicious! She concocted this recipe for the US Olympics team."

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photo by Miss Annie in Indy

Ready In:: 45mins
Ingredients:: 16
Serves:: 8

ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 ¹⁄₂ lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
¹⁄₄ - ¹⁄₂ cup hot sauce, depending on how hot you like it
1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 lb whole wheat elbow macaroni
¹⁄₂ cup monterey jack pepper cheese
2 scallions, root ends removed and thinly sliced

directions

To make cutting the chicken easier, place it into the freezer for about 15 minutes until it firms up slightly but isn’t frozen through. This will let you cut it up quickly into small pieces.
Preheat broiler and place a large pot of salted water over high heat to bring up to a boil for the whole wheat elbow macaroni.
Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken bits and brown them, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the veggies, stirring frequently, until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer the chili for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together and thicken it slightly.
While the chili is simmering, toss the pasta into the boiling salted water and cook until al dente according to package directions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and toss it into the chili, then transfer everything to a casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the top and place it under the broiler until the cheeses have melted and the top is golden brown, 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle the chopped scallions over the top and watch this one disappear in no time.

Questions & Replies

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Reviews

Ew - I am sorry, but this was so gross. Maybe it was better when Rachel made it, but we were just not impressed. Like other reviewers said, it makes a ton ... but we don't want to eat the rest, nor will we make it again!

aeharvey
This is one of my favorite RR recipes! When I first saw her make it on the Rachael Ray Show I knew I had to make it asap! My hubby and I totally TOTALLY thought we could handle the 1/2 cup of hot sauce....yeah we were sorely mistaken! lol But it still was delicious and we gobbled it up! We do make one change to the recipe. We don't cover it with cheeses we just sprinkle on what we want which makes reheating this a little bit easier. Unless I'm blind I don't see the blue cheese in this recipe. The one I have from her newest cookbook calls for half a cup blue and half a cup pepper jack. So we use sprinkle a mix of regular jack (the pepper is too much for us!) and blue. The blue really makes this extra tasty b/c of the tang..and seriously we don't like blue cheese! Definitely try this one :) You'll be happy!

Ashley S.
I happened to catch Rachael's show too and I knew I would have to make this dish. I did..... it didn't taste quite as good as I thought it would. This recipe makes a TON as written. I recommend cutting the pasta in half and adding more vegetables. Don't think I'll make this one again, at least without modifying.

Miss Annie in Indy
I was really excited to try this recipe--my family loves Buffalo flavored anything! Unfortunately, we really weren't impressed with this recipe. It was OK, but I won't make it again. As a previous reviewer mentioned, there doesn't seem to be enough sauce and it is just not what I was hoping for. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Auvan
We liked this enough, but probably won't make again. Makes too much for our family, wasn't "saucy" enough for us and just didn't excite us as much as I had hoped.

chefpam

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Tweaks

I made this last night. I did alter it to our family's liking, however. I used cheddar cheese instead of pepper jack and blue cheese. I also cut the entire recipe down because it makes so much food! I too added extra veggies. Quite delicious and very easy to make!!! My one year old loved it , but my 4 year old wasn't thrilled with it. My husband and I enjoyed it greatly.

Singing Katie Jane
We really liked this recipe. As others have writen I increased the amount of veggies and mixed Franks Red Hot with Pete's Wing sauce. I used a bagged mexican blend cheese in place of the Monterey Jack and Highly suggest you use Blue Cheese. It gave that little extra something. Overall, easy to put together and very tasty!

Crazy Fingers