Best Easy Italian Mac Cheese Skillet Recipes

SKILLET MAC & CHEESE

Skillet Mac & Cheese image

This super creamy mac 'n' cheese is so simple it seems almost too easy! Kids really go for the rich cheese flavor, but I've never met an adult who didn't love it too. -Ann Bowers, Rockport, Texas

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories Dinner

Time 25m

Yield 4 servings.

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (about 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups half-and-half cream
3/4 pound process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Optional toppings: fresh arugula, halved cherry tomatoes and coarsely ground pepper

Steps:

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually whisk in cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted., Add macaroni; cook and stir until heated through. Top as desired.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 600 calories, Fat 37g fat (23g saturated fat), Cholesterol 144mg cholesterol, Sodium 1185mg sodium, Carbohydrate 40g carbohydrate (9g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 23g protein.

ITALIAN MAC-N-CHEESE

Italian Mac-n-Cheese image

Provided by Rachael Ray : Food Network

Categories main-dish

Time 30m

Yield 4 servings, plus leftovers

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

1 pound ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi (ribbed, hollow corkscrews)
1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
12 crimini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 (10-ounce) sack, 2 1/2 cups, shredded Italian 4 cheese blend, available on dairy aisle
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), optional
1/2 cup Parmesan, a couple of handfuls

Steps:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta to a chewy al dente, about 8 minutes.
In a nonstick skillet, brown and crumble the sausage. Drain cooked crumbles on paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.
Preheat broiler to high.
To mushrooms, add flour and stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted into sauce, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings, adding hot sauce if desired.
Combine cheese sauce with sausage and pasta, transfer to flameproof baking dish, casserole or flameproof serving platter. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of 4 cheese blend and the grated Parmesan over the top and brown under hot broiler.

EASY ITALIAN MAC & CHEESE SKILLET

Easy Italian Mac & Cheese Skillet image

This is a one pan mess! I love this because it is so easy to make. I must give credit to the Kraft Foods website because this is where I got the idea from. HOWEVER I did modify the recipe a bit, because first off I didn't write down what I needed and thought I could remember so when I got home I had to improvise. I served this to my somewhat picky husband, and parents and they all got up for seconds! So I'm very impressed! Some pointers to keep in mind. Because this website is picky on wordage it's suspposed to say 2 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Shells Three Cheese Flavor and not 1 lbs but rather 3 large pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast. I made this in a rather large deep skillet. And will have leftovers for tomorrow. If you're making this for only two people only use one box of mac and cheese, less chicken, less peppers/onions, and less milk/water. Also, what I like to do is have everything chopped up BEFORE putting anything in the pan to start cooking. I didn't really time how long it took me to cook this so I just guessed.

Provided by ChrissyVas

Categories One Dish Meal

Time 40m

Yield 4-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
2 (14 ounce) packages macaroni shells and cheese
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 medium onion
2 cups milk
2 cups water
1 dash of mccormick italian seasoning (optional)
1 dash pepper (optional)

Steps:

Chop Chicken into bite size pieces.
Chop Onions, and peppers seperately into small pieces.
Coat skillet with olive oil to lightly fry the chopped chicken. (You be the judge of how much oil you wish to use to lightly fry the chicken.).
While chicken is sizzling, add a dash of Italian seasoning and a dash of.
pepper. Stir it up to spread your spices evenly on the cooking chicken.
Once chicken has turned white all the way around on the outside add the.
onions and peppers. Keep cooking on a medium heat until the veggies are soft.
and the meat has no pink on the insides.
Next add the milk, water, shells and cheese packets. Make sure to stir.
everything well. Allow it to simmer and reduce to a low heat, and cover with a.
well fitting lid.
It will be done when it looks creamy, but shells are soft not mushy.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1087.5, Fat 26.9, SaturatedFat 8.7, Cholesterol 110.9, Sodium 1742.5, Carbohydrate 147.4, Fiber 5.7, Sugar 23.1, Protein 63.4