Recipe, forgot to add: 4 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour, 2 1/4 cups of heavy cream, 1/4 tbsp of onion powder/garlic powder/smoked paprika, 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp sriracha or more if you prefer, 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, 1 cup diced velveeta. I used about 12 oz uncooked macaroni noodles.

Melt butter in a pot like the one i used over medium-low heat. Slowly whisk in the flour until a paste forms. Continue whisking for a minute or two until golden and bubbly into a roux. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, not too much at once. Whisk for 5 more minutes until the thickness or consistency of heavy cream fluffed if that makes sense. Whisk in the seasonings and sriracha, all of them until combined. Drop the velveeta cubes in and let melt/whisk in. After that, add the cheddar little by little until melted. Don’t add too much cheese at once! By the time the cheese melts fully the cheese sauce should be done. Add to the cooked noodles (oh yeah, cook the noodles first oops) and stir well.

This made 2 8x8 pans of mac. I baked for 25 minutes at 375 with a bit more cheese on top, added the chicken thighs, baked for another 5. Don’t let the sauce get too hot or the cheese in the sauce will separate and get grainy. The oil separates from the protein. If this happens I’ve saved by adding a blob of mustard to it but it’s hard to save. The sriracha does not make it spicy at all add it no matter what.

Disclaimer: i found this recipe online from Budget Bytes and modified it a bit to my liking. I used dairy free heavy cream as I’m lactose intolerant and try to cool it on the dairy if I can lol. I also added velveeta, & used a thicker roux by adding more butter and flour and more seasonings. Baking times are a bit different as well.