Chive Mac & Cheese w/ "Breaded" Chicken Tenders

I loooovvveee comfort foods which I'm sure everyone else does as well. I am a huge fan of Mac & Cheese and when I learned how to make it from scratch I can't stop trying different combinations. I was watching Rachel Ray the other day and she made a Chicken Cordon Bleu Plate Special.

 Basically it was deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu. She made Mac & Cheese with ham and breaded chicken on the side. It looked delicious, but it also looked like 1000 calories on one plate. I decided to create my own spin off of her dish.

The "breaded" chicken was actually inspired by another recipe that I saw on my favorite blog Emily Bites. She made a Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing that was chicken breaded with Stove Top stuffing mix. I made it last week and I couldn't wait to make a variation of it again.

Breaded Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1lb of Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Tenders
• 1 cup of Stove Top stuffing mix (unprepared)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsps of White Flour
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

• Set oven to 350
• Spray Pyrex dish with cooking spray set aside
• Set up your breading station
• 1st Station Flour
• 2nd Station Egg
• 3rd Station Stove Top
• Take a chicken tender coat with flour, then coat with egg, and finish off with a coating of Stove Top
• Place in Pyrex
• Repeat these steps for each tender
• Place in oven
• Cook for 30 minutes
• Let cool and enjoy!

Servings: 9 (The package I bought had 9 tenders pre-cut)

WW points per tender: 3 points

*By the time I remembered to take a picture Tim was shoving the last bite into his mouth :( I'll try to add one the next time I make this.

While the chicken tenders are baking you can prepare the Mac & Cheese

Chive Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsps of Butter
• 4 tbsps of Flour
• 1/2 a cup of Fat Free Milk
• 1 can of 99% Fat Free Chicken Broth (I used Swanson's organic one)
• 1/4 a cup of Sharp White Cheddar
• 1/4 a cup of Gruyere Cheese
• 1/4 a cup of Reduced Fat Cheddar
• 2 tbsps of Chives
• 1 tbsp of Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 box of Barilla Plus Penne Pasta

Directions:

• Fill a pot with water, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and just a pinch of salt and pepper
• When pot comes to a boil add the box of Barilla Plus Penne Pasta and reduce heat to medium/medium high
• In a sauce pan add the butter and when it's melted add the flour
• Stir butter and flour to make a roux
• Once combined add the milk
• Keep stirring till milk and roux are smooth
• Add the white cheddar stir till all the cheese is melted
• Add the Gruyere cheese stir till all the cheese is melted
• Add the reduced fat cheddar stir till all the cheese is melted
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper
• Add the can of broth start stirring in a figure 8 shape (Rachel Ray recommends this and it does seem to keep the sauce smooth whenever I do it)
• Pasta should be done cooking, strain it and put it back into the pot you used to cook it
• Once the cheese sauce is blended add the chives and stir
• Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and coat evenly

Servings: 8 ( The pasta totaled to 8 cups once prepared)

WW points per serving: 5 points