Loaded Chicken Mac & Cheese

Hubby found this recipe on Yahoo- I tweaked it a little bit and a delicious dinner was created! (I'm sure you can make this a lot healthier, but this is definitely comfort food to the max- I did use whole wheat pasta! That counts for something, right??)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of pasta (I used 12 oz)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced (a whole onion was too much for me. I think 1/2 an onion would have been perfect)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 8 oz pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used 3 whole chicken breasts)
• 1 can (10 oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I actually used a whole bag- 2 cups) 

I first boiled my chicken (which I've surprisingly never done before) until done and chopped into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. 

Next, I cooked the pasta according to the box directions; drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a LARGE pan/dutch oven and saute the onions and peppers until softened.

Next, stir in the tomatoes and prepared cheese product and stir consistently until the cheese melts. (I also added some shredded cheese to this too, as the cubed cheese didn't seem like enough) 

Stir in the chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chili powder, cumin, and pasta until blended. (The pasta didn't fit into the skillet so I ended up mixing everything together in the baking dish)

Spoon the mixture into a greased 11 x 7 baking dish;  

sprinkle the top with shredded cheese;

and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.

Enjoy!