Jalapeño poppers + mac & cheese? All in one dish? And even low carb if you want it to be?!
I think I may have just died and gone to heaven.
Jalapeño poppers are one of my guilty pleasures. I could eat them every day, and sometimes I kind of do, by making my Jalapeño Popper Dip or Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches way more often than I should.
My waistline doesn’t thank me for those splurges though, so I was excited to find a way to make this treat low-carb, which fits into my lifestyle (and my waistline!) much better!
I have been enjoying the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle lately and using low-carb noodles such as Dreamfields (and leaving off the bread crumb topping!) keep this meal very low carb (making it an “S” for you THMers reading this). So satisfying!
(No, I don’t eat low carb 100% of the time. That is the beauty of THM, but I won’t go into that right now. This is not an advertisement!)
If you like Jalapeño Poppers, I can pretty much guarantee that you will like this.
If you don’t care about having this be low carb, then by all means, use regular noodles and add some crushed tortilla chips on top!!
And the best part? You can have this dish done and ready to pop under the broiler for it’s 5 minute browning by the time the noodles are done boiling.
Super fast, easy and almost sinfully delicious… All things that make me incredibly happy!
Ingredients
- 1 box (about 16oz) short noodles**, cooked al dente & set aside
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3-4 large fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 (8oz) block cream cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar-jack or mexican blend cheese
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips, optional*
Directions
While the noodles are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and preheat the broiler of your oven to Low.
In the heated skillet, drizzle in the olive oil & then the jalapeños and garlic, sautéing until tender, about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the chicken stock, heavy cream & cream cheese, stirring often until melted and smooth. Turn off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Taste and add salt & pepper to taste.
When the noodles are done, toss them in with the shredded cheese and if your skillet is oven-proof, sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese. (If your skillet is not oven-proof, or you're not sure, transfer the mixture to a baking dish before sprinkling on the parmesan and placing in the oven.)
*If you want to add the tortilla topping, do it now!
Broil for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.
Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.
I like to make this dish not too spicy, because it is more crowd-pleasing that way, and then serve with cayenne pepper on the side to sprinkle for those who like it spicy!
**If you want to make this a low-carb meal, use Dreamfields low-carb pasta. This is NOT a sponsored post! I just love their product!**
http://sweetannas.com/2013/08/low-carb-jalapeno-popper-mac-and-cheese.htmlrecipe loosely adapted from Rachael Ray
