‘The Walking Dead’: Romance your lady like Rick with this chili mac ‘n cheese recipe

It’s date night, and you’re at a loss as you try to plan the perfect romantic meal. Thankfully, you can turn to Mr. Romance himself, Rick Grimes, for inspiration. And we’ve got the recipe to help make that magic happen.

On Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his lady, Michonne (Danai Gurira), are on a mission to scavenge for guns, but they manage to squeeze in some quality sexytime along the way. When they hit total pay dirt — a ton of weapons and a massive storage of canned food and military RTE (ready to eat) meals — they have quite the candlelit dinner. It’s adorable… and then Rick pulls out one final surprise.

“I’ve been waiting to show you this one,” he says, revealing one additional variety of RTE meal. “It’s chili… and mac ‘n cheese… together.”

Swoon, right? Certainly, people on Twitter thought so (bad breath be damned!).

We turned to Chef DJ Dallas Green, founder of Made of Scratch and Chopped competitor, for the perfect chili mac ‘n cheese recipe so you can live the dream like Richonne.

Ingredients for the chili part:
1 pound Chopped Meat of preference
2 Cans of Kidney Beans (15 oz each)
1 Sweet Onion diced
1 Green Pepper diced
10 Garlic Cloves diced
4 Cups Freshly Chopped Tomatoes (or one 28 oz can)
1 Jar Tomato Sauce
1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
2 Teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1 Teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
Salt
Pepper

Ingredients for the mac ‘n cheese part:
2 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock
2 Cup Campanelle Pasta (or your favorite pasta)
2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Cups High Quality Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
Add ground beef to pot and bring up to temp over medium-high heat and add salt & pepper to taste
Drain Ground Beef and set aside
Heat Pan and add onions and peppers and cook for 1 minute
Add Garlic and cook for 30 seconds
Add Oregano, Thyme, Red Chili Flakes & Paprika and stir
Add Tomato Sauce and Diced Tomatoes Beans and cook for 45 Minutes
With 5 minutes left, make mac ‘n cheese:
Over medium-high heat combine pasta and chicken stock in a pan until al dente about 8 minutes and stock has reduced by ¼
Add cream, bring to simmer then add cheese and stir
Add salt and pepper to taste
Combine with Chili, stir and serve in your favorite ramekin or bowl

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.