Spicy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Pasta

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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I made this for myself the night I made by badass boyfriend, Miles, this Easy Spicy Southern Chicken Spaghetti.

You could easily leave out the faux chicken or sub it out with some cooked real chicken. This is really just all about the Velveeta & the Buffalo sauce. Easy, naughty & delicious!

This casserole fell victim to the same oven mutiny that the Chicken Spaghetti did so my first effort had a VERY crispy top & the inside was more dry than I’d hoped. I fixed it by simply adding more melted Velveeta heated with some milk, tossed it all together, topped with a bit more cheese & panko & then just heated that through until the panko browned.

Below are my two efforts – the original & the redesigned leftovers.

Spicy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Pasta

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb dry pasta – cooked

8 oz vegan chicken (or cooked real chicken)

1 TBS butter

1 TBS flour

3/4 cup milk (plus extra for reheating leftovers)

8 oz Velveeta (plus extra for reheating leftovers)

1 cup grated cheese (I used a mozzarella/cheddar mix)

1/3 cup Frank’s Buffalo sauce (or Frank’s Hot Sauce or other hot sauce) – plus extra as garnish

S&P

3/4 cup Panko or other bread crumbs

Crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola as garnish (optional) or a dollop per serving of blue cheese dressing

Scallions and/or cilantro and/or parsley as garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Cook the pasta & real chicken (if you are using real chicken). Set aside.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a stock pan and heat over medium heat until bubbly. Whisk in the flour. Whisk constantly until the roux begins to brown – maybe 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk – allowing it to thicken. Add the Velveeta, hot sauce & real/faux chicken. Mix. Add the pasta. Add S&P to taste.

Prepare a casserole pan with cooking spray or butter. Place the pasta mix & top with grated cheese & bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted & bubbling at the edges & the bread crumbs are beginning to brown.

Serve this bad boy up topped with crumbled blue cheese of some kind or with a bit of blue cheese dressing & some cilantro/scallions & drizzle with even more hot sauce. Eat until your pants feel tight. When you are done – head out to the store & by some cheap wine & the largest bag of Doritos available.

Consume those until you have visible chemical burns in your mouth from the toxic Doritos. Keep drinking through the pain. Watch The Voice. Complain out loud to sleeping dogs about how LAME this season is. Post a few tipsy Facebook comments along those same lines.