Family gatherings are an essential part of our family, whether we are celebrating a holiday, a birthday, family cookout, summer grilling or a Saturday morning youth soccer game. Our family tends to find an excuse to get together and enjoy a good meal. And what better way to enjoy a meal together than with savory Latino dishes? Although my parents and myself have lived in the states for more than 25 years and my husband’s family for more than 30, our gathering main dishes, appetizer and desserts consist of a combination of American & Latin American cuisine. This coming weekend our families will come together to celebrate a Birthday and Father’s day (with a few soccer matches running in the background ;-)). Therefore, this past weekend I headed to my local Walmart store to pick up a few items to try a new recipe that I have been itching to try and of course, I had to make it ahead of time to sample it before I let my mother-in-law try it. Yeah, I am not exaggerating, she is an excellent cook! 🙂
If you are familiar with this blog, you know by now that my boys play little league soccer most of the year, but to us soccer is more than just a past time, it is our passion! My father-in-law, brother-in-law and my husband all played soccer through high school, beside that, most (if not all) of our extended family (on both sides) are very passionate about the sport.
Since our oldest boy began playing soccer at age 4, one constant staple after every soccer match are a few treats and Capri Sun juices and since this upcoming weekend we will be celebrating, Capri Sun, will have to be picked up for this occasion as well. Have you seen the new clear bottom Capri Sun pouches yet? They are so cool, now you can see how much juice is left inside the pouch and the best part is that Capri Sun now contained 25% less sugar, NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
As I said before, between both families, we have lived in the states for more than 30 years and American cuisine has filtered into our Latin American dishes. One thing that cannot be missed from any of our celebrations or gathering is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and a few soccer matches on TV. This is why during this weekend’s celebrations we will have a new dish for everyone to enjoy. My Latin American Easy Pollo Macaroni & Cheese will debut this weekend after a well received reception from my husband, the kids and myself. 🙂 Keep reading below to find my Easy Pollo Macaroni & Cheese recipe…
Easy Pollo Macaroni & Cheese!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
- 2 cups of fully cooked chicken breast strip
- 4 oz. Hot Dogs or sausage
- 8 Tbsp. of butter
- Italian seasoning to taste
- 1 cube of garlic powder
- 2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 can of mixed vegetables
Directions:
- Follow box instructions to make the Macaroni: Boil 6 cups of water. Cut the hot dog into circle rounds, as shown on image above (step 1). Heat a skillet, melt a few teaspoons of butter and add hot dogs to the hot skillet. Stir hot dogs until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove hot dogs from skillets and set aside.
- Using the same skillet you used to browned the hot dogs. Add a few teaspoons of butter, Italian seasoning, garlic and stir until butter melts. Add the fully cooked chicken breast strips, combined with melted butter and add Worcestershire sauce, making sure all the ingredients are well combined.
- At this point make sure your pasta is tender, remove from heat and drain water from pasta and set aside (away from the heat). Stir in the browned hot dogs onto your chicken, combined thoroughly. Open one can of mixed vegetables and drain all the water from the can, make sure all the water is drained from the can. Add vegetables to your hot dog & chicken combination and combined all the ingredients.
- Add your drained pasta to your hot dog, chicken and vegetables combination, making sure all ingredients are well combined. Add cheese sauce mix (from Kraft mac & cheese box) and butter to your Pollo macaroni, mix well.
- Remove your Pollo macaroni & cheese mixture from heat and add to a cast iron skillet and top with shredded cheese. Place your Pollo macaroni & cheese into a 300 degree oven until cheese is melted completely. Serve and enjoy!
My Easy Pollo Macaroni & Cheese with a Latino twist was an excellent choice for my picky eaters and my husband said it taste just like my Nicaraguan Arroz con Pollo, which is a staple at any Nicaraguan party or celebration. I was elated when he mentioned this last part as that was my inspiration for this dish. 🙂
My #GolazoKraft Easy Pollo Macaroni & Cheese and Capri Sun juices are the perfect pair, or as we say in Spanish, La pareja perfecta for any family gathering or after every soccer match! What kind of foods do you prepare at your family gatherings? If you are Latino (a), how do you infuse your Latin seasoning into other cuisines?
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