{"id":4474,"date":"2025-06-10T16:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T16:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/?p=4474"},"modified":"2025-06-10T16:39:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T16:39:00","slug":"creamy-honey-pepper-chicken-mac-and-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/creamy-honey-pepper-chicken-mac-and-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Creamy Honey Pepper Chicken Mac and Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Creamy Honey Pepper Chicken Mac &amp; Cheese<\/p>\n<p>Ingredients<\/p>\n<p>For the Chicken:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 large chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into strips or cubes<\/li>\n<li>1 tbsp olive oil or butter<\/li>\n<li>2 tbsp honey<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp cracked black pepper (adjust to taste)<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 tsp smoked paprika<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 tsp garlic powder<\/li>\n<li>Salt, to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For the Mac &amp; Cheese:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (or pasta of choice)<\/li>\n<li>2 tbsp butter<\/li>\n<li>2 tbsp flour<\/li>\n<li>2 cups milk (whole milk or half &amp; half for extra creaminess)<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 cup heavy cream (optional but extra creamy)<\/li>\n<li>1 1\/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 cup mozzarella (for stretch!)<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 cup grated parmesan<\/li>\n<li>1 tbsp honey (for a sweet touch in the sauce)<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 tsp black pepper<\/li>\n<li>Salt, to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udd25<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Instructions<\/p>\n<p>1.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cook the Pasta<\/p>\n<p>Boil macaroni in salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.<\/p>\n<p>2.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Make the Chicken<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In a pan over medium heat, add olive oil or butter.<\/li>\n<li>Add chicken, honey, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt.<\/li>\n<li>Cook until the chicken is golden, caramelized, and cooked through (about 6\u20138 minutes). Set aside.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Make the Cheese Sauce<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the same pan or a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.<\/li>\n<li>Whisk in the flour and cook for 1\u20132 minutes to create a roux.<\/li>\n<li>Slowly add milk and cream, whisking constantly until smooth.<\/li>\n<li>Let simmer and thicken for 3\u20134 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Stir in cheeses (cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan), honey, pepper, and salt. Mix until fully melted and smooth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Combine Everything<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. Stir to coat.<\/li>\n<li>Gently fold in the honey pepper chicken pieces.<\/li>\n<li>(Optional: Transfer to a baking dish, top with extra cheese, and broil for 3\u20135 minutes until bubbly and golden.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>5.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Serve Hot!<\/p>\n<p>Garnish with extra cracked pepper or chopped parsley if you want to get fancy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creamy Honey Pepper Chicken Mac &amp; Cheese Ingredients For the Chicken: 2 large chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into strips&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Creamy Honey Pepper Chicken Mac and Cheese - Grandma Baking Recipes","description":"Creamy Honey Pepper Chicken Mac &amp; Cheese Ingredients For the Chicken: 2 large chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into strips or cubes 1 tbsp olive oil or butt"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4476,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4474\/revisions\/4476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breckas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}