By Christie Vanover | Published October 10, 2011 | Last Updated November 29, 2023
There have been many nights where dinner only made it to the table because of my husband’s second wife Mrs. Stouffer. When I’m stuck at the office until 7 p.m., she always has that special way of throwing dinner into the oven and comforting me with meaty, cheesy joy.
In an effort to get some credibility back with my husband, I’ve learned to create my own oven-ready meals, using my recipe for Weeknight Mornay (Cheese) Sauce.
I mix this sauce with local meats, fresh veggies and whole wheat pasta and pan it all up over the weekend, so instead of reaching for Mrs. Stouffer Tuesday night, I can just depend on Mrs. Vanover.
All week, I’ll be sharing a dish a day using this Mornay Sauce, so you have a variety of ideas on how to use it. But as always, I encourage you to experiment.
Monday’s recipe is a Green Chile Chicken Penne made with a pepperjack Mornay. I panned a few in small single-serving casserole dishes and the rest in a large pan. It turned out great.
Green Chile Chicken Penne
Ingredients
- 1 13.5- oz. box penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup onion diced
- 1 small can green chiles
- 1 ½ cups cooked chicken
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ozs. 2 cups Pepperjack cheese
- Panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Cook penne pasta, until al dente.
- Heat butter in a skillet and sauté the onions, until tender.
- Dice chicken and boil, until cooked through. Drain and set aside.
- Prepare the Mornay Sauce using the butter, flour, milk and 2 cups pepperjack cheese.
- Combine the pasta, onions, green chiles, chicken and mornay sauce.
- Spoon into baking dish and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. You can also add more cheese and/or butter on top for more deliciousness.
- Cover each pan with foil, so you can reheat it on a weeknight.
- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through.
The nutrition information is an estimate created using an online nutrition calculator
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