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!

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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.

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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!

Buffalo Wings

I have never made wings before, so what better time to make them than for Super Bowl Sunday?? It wasn’t the easiest task to prep the wings, but now that I know where to cut it should be much easier next time. I like this method of cooking the wings, because I’m not a big fan of frying – I enjoy eating fried foods, just not being the one responsible for not burning the house down 😉 The steaming renders off a good amount of fat so that when they roast in the oven, there is far less steam and mess to deal with later. It’s actually slightly healthier, too – especially when compared to deep frying. We will soon see if the extra effort and my cautious nature pays off. I have a new 5 quart stainless steel pot that has a steamer insert in it and was able to cook the wings in two small batches. The insert in so much easier to clean than those small, collapsible steamer baskets.

Verdict: These were so good, I wished I bought the party pack! I used Frank’s Red Hot, which has the perfect combination of flavor and heat and the minced garlic gives it a little something extra. These aren’t difficult to prepare, and the only part I didn’t like about making them is dividing the wings. However, after tasting these I would make these again – they’re perfectly moist, tender, juicy and flavorful. The only thing that’s missing is the super crispy skin you get when you fry them. I’m so glad when a little extra effort goes a long way in flavor. Oh, I made a blue cheese dip for these too. It couldn’t be easier! I’ll post that below the wing recipe. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Wings – adapted from Alton Brown

  • 12 whole chicken wings
  • 3 ounces unsalted butter
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:

Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.

Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Replace the paper towels with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine.

Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

Super Easy Blue Cheese Dip –

  • crumbled blue cheese – as much or as little as you want
  • mayonnaise
  • sour cream
  • fresh cracked pepper

It couldn’t be easier – just add the amounts that you prefer. For about one cup of dip, I use at least 1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese, 1/2 a cup of sour cream and 2 – 4 TBSP of mayonnaise, and lots of pepper to taste.

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!


Buffalo Chicken Calzone

Quick Post: By now you can tell we like buffalo chicken! I love Frank’s Red Hot because it has great flavor and a mild kick to it. I made two calzones tonight – one for the adults and one for the kids. The other calzone had mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, pepperoni and sliced baby Portobello mushrooms in it. They both tasted excellent:) I warmed up some marinara sauce for the kids to dip theirs, and for the buffalo calzones I made a quick blue cheese dip. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Calzone – a Mom Make’s Recipe

  • 3/4 pound roasted chicken breast, shredded
  • 1/4 batch of this pizza dough
  • 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot
  • 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
  • 1/3 cup sharp white cheddar
  • 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • 1 egg plus a splash of water for the egg wash
  • pizza seasoning to taste

Directions –

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Roll out your pizza dough in a large rectangle – about 10×14 inches. Sprinkle your shredded cheddar on the dough leaving at least an inch of space from the edge. Toss your roasted chicken with the Frank’s Red Hot to coat, then layer on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheeses over the top of the chicken.

3. Brush the egg wash around the perimeter of the dough, and then fold the long side of the dough to the opposite side and crimp to seal. Place on a lined baking sheet, brush the top of the calzone with the egg wash, and bake for 15 minutes.

Blue Cheese Dip – a Mom Make’s Recipe

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup blue cheese
  • fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions –

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. YUM!

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

Oh, this is too good! While searching for a recipe to use up leftover roasted chicken, I came across this. I had to buy the cheese but I had everything else on hand which is always good:) While reading through a few of the comments, I noticed that several people wrote that this recipe makes “a ton” but they successfully halved it. Well, that sounded like a good idea to me because I didn’t have enough chicken to make three cups anyway. The recipe also doesn’t seem so decadent when you halve the amounts of cheese and butter;) Everyone enjoyed this, but M still prefers this one over all others I’ve made. Honestly, I’m looking forward to eating leftovers;) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese – adapted from Food Network

  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup hot sauce (preferably Frank’s)
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 pound yellow sharp cheddar, shredded
  • 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola)

Directions –

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.

Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni and bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.



Super Bowl Appetizers

Quick Post: I don’t care much for football, but I do like making appetizers! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Guacamole Ingredients – adapted from Alton Brown

  • 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions –

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Restaurant Style Salsa ingredients – adapted from The Pioneer Woman

  • 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
  • 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies) *I drain these*
  • ¼ cups Chopped Onion
  • 1 clove Garlic, Minced
  • 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
  • ¼ teaspoons Sugar
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • ¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
  • ½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
  • ½ whole Lime Juice

Directions –

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

I know this looks gross, but I assure you – if you love blue cheese you’ll love the taste of this!
Buffalo Chicken Dip ingredients –

  • 1 skin-on, bone-in chicken breast, roasted and shredded
  • 1 – 8 oz package of cream cheese at room temp
  • 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
  • 1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese
  • 1/2 blue cheese dressing
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot

Directions –

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a 8×8 inch baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with celery sticks.