Have you ever had an idea rattling around in your head that's a lil' strange and if executed could either be weird and gross or innovative and totally awesome?!
Well that's the deal with this recipe. For a while now I've wanted to dump chunky salsa over my mac n' cheese. Color me crazy, but it just seemed like a great idea. Of course getting up the nerve to actually do it (AND feed it to Scott) was a whole other story.
Maybe it was the mojitos, or the spirit of Memorial Day weekend... I don't know, but I tried it and hot damn! What a pay off.
The nice thing about this new take on an old favorite is the possibilities. I'm not just adding salsa to my pasta -- but a host of nutricious options. You can dump in vegetables like zuccihini, tomatoes and corn, stir in black beans for added protein or heat it up with a spicy salsa, hot sauce or chiles. Hell, even sliced black olives over top with some soyrizo (I have a fat-free recipe in my cookbook) or spicy seitan sausage could be KILLER.
To make Fiesta Mac n' Cheese add 1 to 1 1/2 cups chunky mild salsa to the cheese sauce after it's done cooking. (Note: although fruit salsas like peach and pineapple are damn tasty, I think they'd pretty gross here. Stick with traditional tomato-based salsas and keep the fruit salsas reserved for salsa chickpea wraps). NOM NOMINO!
