Smoky Chipotle Mac-n-Chedddar

This recipe is from Rachel Ray's cookbook 365: No Repeats. I hope I am not infringing on any copyright issues by sharing it here. It is actually a fourth alteration of a recipe, and I am not quoting the cookbook exactly, but more writing what I did using her recipe. She said it makes 4 servings, but we had three times the amount that we eat in one meal.

1 pound elbow macaroni noodles
3/4 to 1 pound chorizo
1 15-ounce can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter (I skipped the olive oil and used 2.5 Tbsp butter)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped (I didn't chop mine)
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp chili pepper and sprinkled in some crushed red pepper)
1 tsp paprika
3 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock or broth (I used bullion)
3 cups grated smoked cheddar cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard (I completely forgot about this and didn't add it at all)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside until the end.
2. While the pasta is cooking, cut the casing off the chorizo and dice it. Then let it brown (or cook, because it doesn't really turn that brown) in a medium sized frying pan.
3. While the chorizo is browning, melt in a medium saucepan the butter (and olive oil). Add the onion and chipotle peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Raise the heat and whisk in the flour, cayenne (or its substitutes) and paprika. When it bubbles, cook for 1 more minute.
4. Then add the milk and chicken broth and turn up the heat a little more. Bring it to a quick boil, but once it boils reduce the heat and let it simmer until the sauce thickens. (She said 3-5 minutes, it took my sauce 5-10 minutes before it thickened.)
5. Add cheese to the thickened sauce and stir until cheese is melted. (This is when you add the Dijon and salt and pepper to taste, which I forgot to do. I don't think we really missed any of them.)
6. Once the chorizo is browned, drain the fire-roasted tomatoes and add them to the chorizo pan.
7. When the cheese is melted and the chorizo and tomatoes are warmed, pour it all over the noodles and stir

It is a little spicy, but it fills you up, unlike box mac-n-cheese, so it is fine as a main dish. Rachel Ray did mention that if you couldn't find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 Tbsp ground chipotle powder would work well. However, the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce were much easier for me to find.
I served it with beets, my family's traditional macaroni and cheese vegetable, but corn, or a salad, or green beans could have been equally yummy (or more yummy, if you don't like beets).