Baked Chicken Macaroni and Cheese from the Pantry

Mac and Cheese is always good. I admit to eating the stuff from the blue box with hot dogs on a late night of studying. I was really hungry one night and evaluated what we had in the fridge and this was the outcome. If I were to buy the ingredients, I would use a sharp cheddar cheese or another hard cheese with lots of developed flavor in it. But my method of cooking is taking ingredients I have on hand and making something. You might call it being lazy, I prefer to think of it being adaptive. Anyway, here is the dish...I bet you always have this stuff in your pantry right now.

The Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast
1/2 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
4 Tablespoons butter + 2 Tablespoons more
4 Tablespoons flour
4 cups milk
1/4 cup cream
1 lb elbow macaroni or other small pasta
1 cup grated cheese (Cheddar)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
olive oil
salt
pepper

The Method
Start by prepping the ingredients. Cut the chicken into small cubish pieces. Mince the garlic and finely dice the onion.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water and add the pasta. Drain when the pasta is done.
In a large pan, saute the chicken in some olive oil on medium high heat. When one side is brown, add the bay leaf, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is done and the onions are translucent.

In a saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and then whisk in the flour. Whisk constantly to get lumps out. Add the heated milk in small increments when the roux turns very slightly brown. Think white beach sand. Keep whisking until the bechamel sauce returns to the boil.

Take off the heat. Add the cream, cheddar cheese, half the Parmesan cheese, paprika, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the pasta, chicken mixture, and cheese sauce in the large pan. Mix well and check for seasoning again.
Take out a 9 x 13 pan and grease with a little butter. Pour in the pasta and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Then covered the pasta with the panko bread crumbs. Dot with 2 tablespoons of butter.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden browned and delicious. Resist the temptation and let it cool for 10 minutes.