Tag Archives: buffalo

Guilt-free Buffalo “Chicken”

If you know me by now, you know that I will try anything {buffalo chicken}.

Buffalo Chicken brownies?

Buff Chix Smoothie?

Chocolate chip cookies?

I kid, but you catch my drift.

What I am NOT kidding about are these Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower “Wings” which were probably first pinned from PETA’s website here.

wings2

I chose to follow skinnytaste.com’s version here with my own teeny tiny twist.

I followed Gina’s directions to a “t”, but used about 1 tsp. unsalted butter and 2 tsp. coconut oil instead of 1 tbsp. butter. I am just now getting around to jumping on the coconut oil bandwagon…can you believe it? If you know be my now, you also know that I love all things coconut.

wings3

Um, these were amazing. I could’ve eaten the whole pan. To be honest, you don’t even need to dip them in ranch or blue cheese. They are perfect alone.

I didn’t have any celery on-hand so I served with some cucumber slices and just a tad bit of ranch.

Oh, and this is the only buffalo sauce that I use…

wings1

wings4

*****

Once in awhile I love to go to Hooter’s or Chili’s for boneless buffalo wings and an ice cold beer. These cauliflower bites just might take away the craving and are certainly more guilt-free ~ both in my eyes and in PETA’s eyes.

If you, too, love all things buff chix, you MUST give these a try.

Linking up again with sweet Jess and her monthly PinterTest Kitchen!

Monday Night Football Burger

Hi friends. Happy Monday!

Fortunately Elliott’s soccer practice was cancelled for tonight so that means we can get in our jammies early, light some candles and be in for the night to watch some Monday Night Football.

Go Niners!

Buffalo chicken wings are synonymous with football, no?

Last night I made another Pinterest find ~ Buffalo Chicken Burgers

They were awwwwesome.

For all my buffalo chicken recipes, I like to use this…

Now, there is the Original Frank’s RedHot Cayenne Pepper Sauce , and then there is the WINGS sauce {pictured above}….I have found that the wings sauce gives whatever buffalo chicken dish you’re making a more authentic buffalo flavor ~ and we don’t want to mess with that, right? Right.

I totally messed up the recipe, but they worked out just fine. I will tell you what I did and you can determine if you’d like to do what I did or follow the original recipe provided in the link above.

1/4 cup light sour cream {I used plain greek yogurt}
1/4 cup reduced fat blue cheese crumbles

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup diced celery

1 package ground chicken {approx 1.25 lbs.}
1/4 cup hot pepper/wing sauce

2 tablespoons bread crumbs {more if your meat mixture is too sticky}

 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

4 buns or rolls, split & lightly toasted
For garnish: lettuce, tomato and/or red onion

{I spread a little bit of bottled Ranch dressing on the bun and used up some leftover chopped tomato on top}

Directions
Preheat your pan or grill on medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
Mix the ground chicken, sour cream/yogurt, blue cheese crumbles, chopped celery, worcestershire sauce,  1/4 cup hot sauce, bread crumbs, celery salt, and cayenne pepper together in a mixing bowl until evenly blended. Form into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.
Cook the chicken burgers on the preheated grill 6 to 7 minutes until well marked, flip and cook for another 5-6 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).


Note: ground chicken has a very different texture than ground beef or ground turkey. Once you mix all the ingredients into the meat, it may seem very wet. If this is the case, you can add a little more bread crumbs to bring it together more or you can go ahead and separate into four patties and once they cook up, they will firm up obviously. The original recipe didn’t call for adding the blue cheese into the meat. I like to add things to the burger before cooking it and that is why I chose to add the chopped celery into the meat. You could certainly leave out the celery if you are not a fan. A little grated carrot would also be fun to throw into the meat for added color and crunch. Again, you can refer to the link above to see an alternate way to prepare these.

To roast the spaghetti squash, just cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, sprinkle with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and place flesh side {cut side} down onto a foil lined baking sheet and roast at 400* for 50 minutes.

I loved this meal. We’ll be having the leftovers tomorrow night before everyone comes into town for Thanksgiving and the real meals begin!

Enjoy.

Papa John’s Copycat ~ Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I love buffalo chicken anything.

Yes, I do love going to Hooter’s for some HOT boneless buffalo wings, fried pickles and a cold beer or two.

Julie instagrammed a Papa John’s buffalo chicken pizza one evening and I immediately knew a large flat box housing one of these would make it’s way through our front door not too soon after that.

Enter the day before our mud run and an excuse to carb load…

It was yum.

I can or cannot say if the carbs in it helped or hindered my performance in the mud run, but that’s not important.

Weeks later, my friend Richelle, made one on a Boboli crust and also tormented her followers by posting it on IG.

Last night I grabbed the essentials and whipped one up for us…

Here’s what you’ll need on your shopping list:

Refrigerated pizza dough in a tube, Trader Joe’s awesome dough, or a Boboli or the like {I used the [compare to Boboli] thin crust two to a package brand from Albertson’s}

Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing

Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce

Mozzarella or cheese of choice {I used half mozz and half colby jack}

Cooked chicken, chopped {I used 4 grilled tenderloins}

Red onion slices

Tomato, chopped

Blue Cheese crumbles

Cilantro, chopped

Spread about a tablespoon each of dressing and Frank’s sauce onto your pizza dough. {If you use a dough that is not already cooked, please follow directions on package before adding your toppings and follow cooking instructions} I was trying to keep it semi-low cal, but you can add as much or as little {sauce} as the base to your pizza. Then add your cheese. I used about 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/4 cup colby jack…again as much or as little cheese as you wish. Scatter the red onion, tomato and whatever other veggies you’d like to include. Toss the chicken in a little more Frank’s sauce and then spread it around. Add just a bit of blue cheese crumbles before popping in the oven. I baked ours for about 8 minutes based on package directions. Remove from oven and drizzle with more Frank’s and/or Ranch and sprinkle with cilantro confetti before slicing and enjoying!

Wish I could say I only ate these two pieces…….

A Different Kind Of Cupcake ~ Savory Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes

Earlier this week I spied some Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes on Instagram and knew they’d be on our table by week’s end. Thanks, Cherish!

Here is what you’ll need:

{2 cups cooked and shredded or chopped chicken, tube of THIN pizza crust, 8 ounce whipped cream cheese [I used the one with chives], 6 ounce plain fat free Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp Ranch dressing seasoning powder [not pictured], 3/4 cup Frank’s buffalo sauce, 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles [I added this ingredient ~ a must with buffalo chicken!] and 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese}

Unroll your pizza dough onto a little bit of flour and cut into 12 {even} squares. Apparently this was a challenge for me…

Next time I will be a little more diligent with my measuring! Spray your muffin pan with Pam and then tuck your little squares of dough in each one to form a little cup for the filling to sit in. As you can see, mine were somewhat haphazard, but it didn’t affect the taste!

Mix the chicken, Ranch dressing mix, cream cheese, yogurt, Frank’s sauce and blue cheese, if using, into a bowl and then spoon equal amounts into the cups. Sprinkle one cup mozzarella cheese evenly over the cupcakes and bake at 375* for about 15-20 minutes.

They were reeeeaaally good. My only tweak would be to use about half the cream cheese next time and maybe add a little more chicken. For me, there were a bit too saucy, but delish nevertheless!

I served them with a simple side of marinated cucumbers…

Will most definitely be making this fun meal again and again.

Enjoy!

*****

Linking up with Mel over at The Larson Lingo!

Need some {sweet} new cupcake ideas? Come on over and see what’s been linked up!

Rummage Sale

A random pile of facts from our weekend…

1. Made {Baked Oatmeal} for our Saturday breakfast.

{followed the link above, but subbed almond/coconut milk and coconut extract}

Such a fun twist on regular ‘ol boring oatmeal…next time I’m adding some fresh berries to the mix.

2. We had an impromptu garage sale on Saturday morning. It was more like a rummage sale. I just threw a bunch of stuff out there and came up with a price when they asked!

Made about $20 an hour for stuff that I would have driven to Goodwill…I’ll take it!

3. Holden cried when a woman walked off with his Baby Bjorn potty chair. He said, “You’re selling all my stuff!” About broke my heart, but he wasn’t about to coax me into keeping stuff that I’m trying to get rid of, so he went inside and watched a movie while mama purged!

4. Fun bowling birthday party with this delicious pizza for lunch.

5. Little Church and my scripture study were cancelled for Sunday morning, so we went to Saturday evening mass instead.

6. Made Rachael Ray’s Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac for dinner.

Super yum and lowfat. I used reduced fat cheeses for the top ~ blue cheese and mexican blend.

7. Sunday morning was lazy with clouds, rain and Pioneer Woman’s Super Sonic breakfast burritos!

I think I got a little too aggressive with the fillings, but they were to-die-for.

8. Kids talked me into taking them to Elliott’s new dance studio’s grand opening in the POURING rain just to jump in the germ infested bouncy….

Chaos.

Waste. Of. Precious. Gas.

9. Jay didn’t like the quote the dealer gave him for new brakes on his Jeep, so he did it himself.

{We did have to make one minor trip to a “professional” for a quick fix-it, but other than that we saved a ton of cash. Thanks Pep Boys for the parts and YouTube for the brake changing tutorial!}

10. Had the Sushi Bake again for dinner last night. We’re hooked.

*****

And that was our weekend, folks.

Hope yours was just as random and nice!

XO

Put This In Your Recipe Box And Make It ~ Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie

I haven’t watched Rachel Ray’s shows or made any of her recipes in awhile.

But after my friend Heather posted this on Facebook last week, I knew it was a contender for one of our dinners this weekend.

Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie

Sooo good.

Like I-wish-I-could-send-a-warrant-out-for-your-arrest-if-you-don’t-make-it good.

Notes: I used 1/2 cup {instead of 1/4 cup} Frank’s Buffalo Wing sauce and a 4 ounce container of reduced fat blue cheese in the cornbread. I also added 3 chopped green onions to the cornbread mix for a little extra color and pizzaz.

Another Pinterest WIN!

Super yum.

Happy Saturday…don’t forget to set those clocks an hour ahead tonight!

XO

Linking up over at Bits Of Splendor…

bits of splendor monday

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Sliders With Roasted Crookneck Squash

How’s that for an original title?

I am so tired I can’t even think of a somewhat catchy name for this post….

I pinned these {surprise!} and knew that I would serve them in slider form because let’s face it, everything is cuter on a small bun.

For the sliders I used about 1.5 pounds of chicken tenderloins {still frozen}, about 3/4 bottle {the small one} of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and about half a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix. I cooked on low for about 6 hours ~ after 5 hours, I shredded the chicken with two forks, added 2 tbsp butter and kept it on low for another hour. Lightly toast up some little rolls and then load ’em up! These would make PERFECT Superbowl grub.

I added a little reduced fat bleu cheese topper {helllllooo, what is buffalo chicken without some bleu?} and served them with roasted yellow squash that I just cut into half moons, drizzed with a bit of olive oil, dusted with salt & pepper, tossed and roasted at 425* for about 15-20 minutes.

Dinner is done.

And so am I.

The Christmas cards are 90% done, our adopt-a-family gift is ready to go, my goodie ingredients have been purchased and I just need to get bakin’.

How’s your holiday agenda coming along?

*****

Nighty night.

XO

Wingin’ It

My Mom tore out and passed along an article titled, “Help Your Kid Find Her Passion” from the November 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping.

I don’t know about you, but I am always worried if we, as parents, are enrolling our little ones in enough activities or are we doing too much? Are we making enough time for school work or do we need to spend an extra 15 minutes each day? Do my kids actually like the activities that they are in or did I force it on them? Both kids started religious education this Fall and even though they did not have a say in it, I feel that it’s something they must do. Fortunately they love it, but I am considering it an extracurricular activity since Elliott’s takes place during the week. Holden goes on Sunday mornings while we’re in mass, so I don’t really regard his as such.

I don’t want to overbook my children, but I also don’t want to overlook a spark or a passion that they may be exhibiting.

Most of the time as parents, we are totally winging it. I don’t think all the parenting books in the world can answer all the questions or challenges of raising a child. I know I/we will always wonder “are we doing enough for our children?”. On the same note, I don’t want to make myself mad running around town {and beyond!} more than I need to. The day in and day out activities are enough, but when you add in everything else {extracurriculars for one or multiple kids, homework/school projects, appointments, the occasional weekday play date}, it can quickly get out of control and I can get overwhelmed. I want to enjoy taking them to activities, not look at it as a burden. We just have to figure out what is best for US and not worry about what everyone else is doing. {I am guilty of that, but getting better}

This article really helped me. I hope that if you’re feeling the same or trying to pinpoint your child’s interests you’ll peruse it, too.

I think the bottom line is that we all want our children to be happy, healthy and well-rounded no matter how many activities they may be doing.

*****

And speaking of wingin’ it, I am always looking for buffalo chicken recipes without the bones! Now that I’ve discovered the boneless buffalo wings, I’m never going back.

I spotted this Buffalo Chicken Salad on Pinterest from babble.com and it’s what was for dinner Monday night. We had a make-up {make-up as in because we missed one, not make-up as in Toddlers & Tiaras} dance class and would be home later than normal on a Monday, so I grilled up the chicken early in the afternoon, chopped all the veggies, layered it in a big bowl and it was ready to toss up when we got home close to 7pm.

It was super yummy and I will certainly make it again {Jay was not a fan of the celery, so next time I will only put it in mine ~ how can you have buffalo chicken without celery? You simply can’t!}

I added cucumber and red onion and used store bought Ranch.

Not the best picture, but don’t let that deter you from making this salad.

Happy {busy} Wednesday!

Caliente!

This weekend was kicked off with a Mommy’s Night Out!

A bunch of us ladies went to SABOR to celebrate a couple birthdays. We sipped strawberry blueberry margaritas and fruity sangrias, chatted, laughed, shared stories from the past, nibbled on chips and salsa, muy delicioso entreés and this crazy good dessert:

Nutella.Filled.Churros.

OH MY!

Our server was very “pleasant” ~ think Mark Consuelos caliber:

Looking forward to the next “Mommies Gone Wild” evening, Ladies!

*****

If you haven’t tried Buffalo Chicken Dip yet, you’re missing out.

This stuff should be outlawed:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

All the goodness of wings without the mess!

I added some crumbled blue cheese and that put it over the top. I like to serve with tortilla chips, Ritz crackers, baby carrots and celery sticks. Thanks, Deb for brining this into my life! It is a staple now.

Next up out of the recipe box: Carolina Barbequed Pork & Polynesian Coleslaw

Hope your weekend has been full of spice!