Fiesta Macaroni and Cheese

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When I lived in Iowa, the only “real” grocery store that we had was Hy-Vee.  I still receive their weekly emails for wellness and recipes, and a recipe for Fiesta Macaroni and Cheese popped up a couple of weeks ago. I was intrigued, but the ingredients did not work for me. A store brand box of macaroni and cheese, packaged black bean salsa from the deli…..

frozen corn and sour cream. It sounded good, but needed to be tweaked to be less processed. 😉

I started with my favorite Homemade Macaroni and Cheese recipe, and added my own Black Bean Salsa recipe {minus the mango}. I  messed up with the cayenne pepper {which I will explain in a minute} but it turned out perfectly!!

Well the flavor is perfect, the experience was yet another crazy adventure! I decided to make the black bean salsa while the water was boiling. Everything was going great until I realized that I didn’t have any chili powder…..I’ll just use cayenne instead. It took about a minute to realize that cayenne is spicy, chili powder is not…..oops!

I kept going and then realized that I did not have green onions…..this is not going well. I continued on until I started prepping for the actual macaroni and cheese, only to realize that I do not have dry mustard powder or paprika. Time to put everything away and go to the store. 🙁

Now we can finally melt the butter in a large pan/Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Simmer, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes……

This is the roux that thickens our cheese sauce. 🙂 Pour in the milk and whisk to combine and remove all lumps. Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, cayenne*, and mustard. Stir to combine…..

{because I used a teaspoon of cayenne in the salsa, I did not add any additional to the sauce} Continue cooking until mixtures starts to simmer, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and add the grated cheese. Stir until melted and completely combined…..

{yes, I remembered to buy sharp cheddar this time} Add the drained pasta and stir until completely coated…..

Stir in the black bean salsa just enough to evenly distribute…..

That is 1 cup, which was not enough after I stirred it together, so I added a second cup which was the perfect amount. 🙂

In the Hy-Vee version, they added diced chicken which I was not too sure about…..so I did not add it into the recipe. I decided to cook my Southwest Chicken separately and serve it on the side…..which I ended up stirring in anyways, LOL

It is completely up to you if you add the chicken or not, but it was actually good mixed in…..even though I still think it’s strange to have chunks of chicken in macaroni and cheese, but that’s just me. 🙂

As for the heat – it was not too spicy, and I’m a wimp, but you could definitely tell that the cayenne was there. If you have picky eaters, I would suggest sticking to the chili powder in the black bean salsa.

Another family friendly pasta dish to try is this Chicken Enchilada Pasta…..

Or this awesome Chipotle Bacon Macaroni Cheese…..

Nope, no issues with bacon mixed into my macaroni and cheese. 😉

Enjoy!!

Fiesta Macaroni and Cheese

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Serves	6
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	25 minutes
Meal type	Main Course

Cheesy and delicious with a touch of heat make this Fiesta Macaroni and Cheese the perfect meal for dinner tonight.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 Cups milk or half & half (I used cashew milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon dry mustard powder
• pinch cayenne pepper*
• 8 Ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (almost 3 cups)
• 1 Pound box pasta/macaroni (cooked and drained)
• 2 Cups Black Bean Salsa
• cilantro to garnish

Optional

• 1 Pound Southwest Chicken

Directions

Melt butter in a large pan/Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the flour and whisk to combine. Simmer, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour in the milk and whisk to combine and remove all lumps.

Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, cayenne*, and mustard. Stir to combine.

Continue cooking until mixtures starts to simmer, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the grated cheese. Stir until melted and completely combined.

Add the drained pasta and stir until completely coated.

Stir in the black bean salsa just enough to evenly distribute.

Serve with Southwest Chicken on the side, or chopped into bite sized pieces and mixed in with the salsa. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Note

You can find the Black Bean Salsa here.

*I made my black bean salsa with cayenne pepper instead of chili pepper and omitted the cayenne from the macaroni and cheese. If you prefer it mild, use the chili pepper instead of the cayenne and add a pinch of cayenne for flavor and color to the macaroni and cheese.

It was not crazy hot, but small children may not appreciate the "kick". 😉

This recipe will be parting at these link parties!