Buffalo Chicken Meatball and Cheesy Mac

It seems like everyone has a recipe that captures the flavors of Buffalo Chicken Wings these days. I liked the idea of Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese but many of the recipes are heavy on the calories. So I set out to see if I could do something about that. I opted to turn the Chicken part into a meatball with lean ground chicken and I lightened the cheese sauce using goat cheese, light shredded cheddar cheese, lowfat milk and fat free half and half. The results are delicious!

1 1/2 pounds lean ground chicken or turkey
1 1/2 cups of panko bread crumbs
2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup each of diced onion and celery
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 450. Spray a large shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on med/high heat. Add the onion and celery. Saute until the veggies are tender. Scrap them into a large bowl and let cool. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined. Using an ice-cream scoop, make meatballs and place them in the baking dish. Put the meatballs close together. They should be touching. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just browned. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Cheesey Mac

2 cups lowfat milk
2 cups fat free half and half
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
5 oz of goat cheese
3 cups lowfat shredded cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot
1 pound whole wheat or multi-grain penne pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup diced celery

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.Fill a large stock pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add enough salt to make the water taste like sea water. Cook the pasta for 6-7 minutes. Drain, return to the empty stock pot and set aside. The pasta will be par-cooked at this point but it will continue to cook in the oven. In a medium sauce pot, melt the butter or margarine. Add the flour and whisk until combined with the melted butter for 1 minutes. Add the milk, the half and half, the hot sauce, salt and pepper. Whisk again until the flour mixture has been incorporated. Switch to a spoon and stir until the mixture has thickend enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat and add the goat cheese and 1 1/2 cups of cheddar. Whisk until the cheeses have melted and are combined. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to coat. Pour the pasta and cheese sauce into the prepared baking dish. Nestle the meatballs down into the pasta and sprinkle the remaining cheese over all. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is browned and the casserole is bubbly.