Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

salad

In an effort to make something new using yesterday’s leftovers, I made this. I had just enough chicken from this pizza to make this boring salad a meal. I also whipped up a simple buttermilk blue cheese dressing to go with it. And because wasting a perfectly good dressing would be just plain dumb; I made a batch of delicious hot wings to go with it! I haven’t made these in years, but they’re worth the extra time required. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

image

Buffalo Chicken Salad – adapted from The Pioneer Woman

  • Leftover marinated and grilled chicken from this, chopped
  • 2-3 TBSP Franks Red Hot
  • 2 TSBP butter
  • Romaine lettuce
  • avocado
  • cucumber
  • cherry tomatoes
  • Blue Cheese Dressing
  • Extra Blue Cheese Crumbles

Directions-

Place a skillet over medium heat; add the butter and Frank’s Red Hot. Heat just until butter has melted, then add chicken and coat with buffalo sauce. Turn off heat and set aside.
Heap tossed salad into individual bowls. Sprinkle blue cheese crumbles, cucumber, sliced avocado, chicken and cherry tomatoes and top with blue cheese dressing.

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing – adapted from My Baking Addiction

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2- 4  tablespoons buttermilk (more to thin out)
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup Crumbled blue cheese

Directions- 

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream and milk in small bowl; mix until smooth. Stir in vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic powder until well blended. Fold in cheese. Transfer to container with tight-fitting lid. Chill until serving time. Stir well before serving.

Advertisement

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

buffchick

My sister shared this simple and satisfying recipe while we were vacationing in California. We made four awesome pizzas together and this one was the standout! We used leftover pollo asada that Dad marinated and grilled the day before. Not even he knows what he threw together for it, so I improvised a super simple marinade for my chicken.  I will make this again next week for company – I hope they love it 🙂 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza – 

For Marinade –

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 1 tsp. sweet paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne
  • grapseed oil
  • juice of one lemon

Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken breast. Let marinade for at least 1 hour. Cook chicken using your preferred method – we grilled ours. This is more than enough chicken for one pizza. (I used the leftover chicken for buffalo chicken salad)

For Pizza – adapted from Punky Purls

  • 1 ball of pizza dough – at least 14 ounces
  • 1 1/2 cup of cooked and shredded chicken
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • blue cheese crumbles to taste
  • 2 – 3 TBSP Franks Red Hot
  • 2 TBSP butter

Directions – 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees and place a pizza stone on top of a rack set at the bottom of your oven.

Place a skillet over medium heat; add the butter and Frank’s Red Hot. Heat just until butter has melted, then add chicken and coat with buffalo sauce. Turn off heat and set aside. Press dough out into a pizza round about 13 inches in diameter and then dock center of pizza dough. With a slotted spoon remove chicken from skillet and place on pizza dough, making sure you don’t coat the bottom in a thick layer of sauce; unless you like soggy pizza 😉 Generously cover the chicken with your cheese. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust and cheese are golden brown. Serve and enjoy!

Hot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

These are always really tasty! I have used this recipe more times than I can count. If you love the taste of Franks Red Hot and blue cheese you’ll love these. I bought boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and pounded them to make them cook quicker and for ease of eating. Doing this at home saved me over a dollar per pound – Publix wanted over 5 dollars for cutlets.

I took many liberties with this recipe starting with marinating the chicken – that’s a must in our house when we grill chicken. It adds so much to this meal and it couldn’t be easier. I also combine mayo with the sour cream to mellow out the sauce – it makes a lot so if you want to use the suggested celery and carrots you have plenty left over to dip. I’m sure I can talk M into getting us some buffalo wings later on this week to use the rest!;) We love all things “buffalo” and if you’re a regular visitor to this blog – that’s easy to see. Here are just some of the other buffalo style meals I have made. My two favorites by far are the buffalo chicken calzone and the buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese…so good!! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches – (heavily) adapted from Rachel Ray

  • 1.5 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded to an even thickness
  • 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of one large lime
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

Sauce for Chicken –

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
  • Romaine lettuce leaves
  • 4 crusty rolls, split
  • 1 cups sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled

Prepare your marinade by combining the lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne in a small bowl. Place your chicken in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade over all. Mush the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours – the longer the better.

Preheat your grill to medium high heat, then cook your chicken for 5-7 minutes each side.

Heat a metal or oven safe glass bowl over low heat and melt butter in the bowl. Add hot sauce to the butter and combine. When the chicken breasts are done, remove from pan and add to the bowl and coat evenly with hot sauce mixture.

Place chicken breasts on bun bottoms and top with crisp lettuce. Combine sour cream, mayo, pepper and blue cheese and slather bun tops with blue cheese mixture. Affix bun tops on sandwiches and enjoy!