Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bread

So I've been all about the easy stuff lately, at least when it comes to the kitchen.

At the grocery store, I recently found this refrigerated, roll-out pizza crust with whole grains- which I am super excited about!  It's by Pillsbury, called Artisan Pizza Crust.

Ok ok, I know it's still not as good (or good for you) as homemade, but at least it's a slightly healthier, convenient option.

Now somewhere deep in the dusty annals of my brain lay a recollection of this taco ring that we made in Home Ec in high school, where we braided dough around a meat & cheese filling.

Do not ask me how I remembered this, considering I have to write myself notes to remind myself of pretty much everything these days - but I did.

That, in turn, gave me the idea to do a braided stuffed bread.  And what better to stuff bread with than buffalo chicken and cheese (especially when your husband is Mr. Vittles?)

By the way, I apologize for the atrocious photos - it's not that I'm regressing back to the early days of V&B, but rather that I made this for dinner and there was zero natural light available.  And the aforementioned lazy factor prevented me from getting out my special indoor light.

So deal, ok?  You get the idea.

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bread

• 1 can refrigerated roll-out pizza crust (I recommend Pillsbury Artisan crust)
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked & shredded
• 1 T. butter
• 1 t. garlic, minced
• 1/2 C. Frank's Red Hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choosing)
• 1/4 C. blue cheese dressing
• 3/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg white, beaten
• sesame seeds, for garnishing (optional)

Unroll pizza crust onto a cookie sheet that's been greased or lined with nonstick foil.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place shredded chicken in a large bowl.  In a small frying pan, melt butter over medium heat until foaming.  Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Pour butter mixture over chicken in bowl, and add hot sauce.  Mix well to coat chicken evenly.

Turn the cookie sheet with the crust so the short side is facing you.  Evenly distribute chicken mixture down the middle of the crust, vertically.  Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, make a horizontal cut in the middle of each side of the crust, to within a 1/2" of the filling.

You will now have 4 squares of crust surrounding the chicken.  In the very middle of each of those squares, make another cut to within a 1/2" of the filling.  You will now have a total of 8 strips surrounding the chicken.

In the center of each of those strips, make another cut to within a 1/2" of the chicken so that you have a total of 16 strips (8 on each side of the chicken).  See diagram below (the tan color is crust, the peach is the chicken, and the dotted lines are the cuts you need to make):

Once you have all the cuts completed, drizzle top of chicken with blue cheese dressing.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Then, using two hands, alternate pulling the strips across filling to cover.  At the ends of the braid, pinch any holes together so none of the filling comes out.

Brush the beaten egg white over the top of your braid, and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if desired).  Bake in preheated oven 12-15 minutes, or until top is browned.  Let sit 5 minutes on sheet before cutting and serving.  Serves 4.

Original Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

For all the things that I cook and bake, sadly there are very few dishes that get much of a rise out of Mr. Vittles.

For someone like me... this is kind of a nightmare.

I like feedback!

But if I had a dollar for every time I heard "It's pretty good" from my husband, I'd have a full little piggy bank.

(Luckily, he has other good qualities.)

Nonetheless, every now & again I stumble upon something that gets a reaction.

Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese.  Coconut Kona Ice Cream.  Ricotta Cookies.

And now... Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf.

I asked him if it would be better with the addition of blue cheese crumbles but he said it was already pretty "solid."  However, I will throw that suggestion out there in case you are so inclined.  You could also serve it with a side of blue cheese dressing.

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 3 T. ranch dressing
• 3 T. Frank's Red Hot (or the hot sauce of your choice)
• 2 T. milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 C. plain bread crumbs
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. celery seed
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1/8 t. salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Glaze

• 2 T. Frank's Red Hot
• 2 T. ketchup
• 1 T. honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a shallow Pyrex dish or pie plate with nonstick spray and set aside.  (You can also make this in a loaf pan, surprisingly little fat comes out of it).

In a medium bowl, whisk together ranch dressing, hot sauce, garlic & onion powder, celery seed, salt, pepper, cayenne, milk & egg.  Add bread crumbs & stir.  Add ground chicken and mix thoroughly with your hands until combined.

Form into a loaf and place into prepared dish.  Cook 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 T. hot sauce with ketchup and honey.  Brush glaze over meatloaf, and return to oven for another 15 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  Serves 2-4.

Recipe Adapted from About.com

Mexican-Style Creamed Corn

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

I have been craving creamed corn a la Rosa Mexicano for a while now, and I found a recipe on this fabulous blog Muy Bueno Cookbook that seemed very similar.

It's not quite the same, but it's absolutely delicious nonetheless!

I did not have some of the ingredients so I had to make some substitutions... not to mention corn is not in season yet.  But when it is, I will definitely make this again with fresh corn from the cob.

In other news... I went to my second boot camp class still sore from the first.

And I am still sore.

And that was last night. 

Ahh!  Ok so creamed corn probably isn't helping.

Good thing I only ate a little.

Mexican-Style Creamed Corn

• 2 C. good-quality frozen sweet corn (I used Trader Joe's Roasted Corn - you can also slice kernels from 4 freshly husked cobs)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 4 T. butter, cut in tablespoons
• 4 T. lime juice (from about 4 medium limes)
• 1/4 C. crema mexicana (I used sour cream)
• 2 T. cotija cheese (I used finely crumbled feta), or to taste
• chile powder, for sprinkling
• hot sauce, to taste (optional)

Place corn in medium saucepan, and cover with water and 1/2 t. salt.  Bring to a boil, and boil about 2 minutes.  Drain and place corn back in saucepan.

Add butter to hot corn, and mix until melted.  Add lime juice and sour cream- mix to coat.  Divide corn amongst 4 serving bowls and top with hot sauce (if using).  Sprinkle with chile powder and crumbled cheese.

Serves 4.

Recipe Adapted from Muy Bueno Cookbook

Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips

I was never one for super spicy things.  That gene must have skipped me, because my dad has plenty of hot sauce, hot salt, hot relish, etc. on hand to spice up his meals.

I do like a hint of hot ... a little "kick," if you will... but nothing that's going to make your eyes water.  Personally, I think when a dish is too spicy you can't taste anything else.

But Mr. Vittles tends to disagree.  He likes things that are going to set your mouth (and potentially other parts of your body) on fire.

No bueno.

So thankfully we have come to somewhat of a happy medium in Frank's Red Hot.

This was a staple in his household long before I came into the picture, and although its tame for him, he does seem to really enjoy the taste.

And its a "hot" sauce I can handle.

So when I noticed this in the store the other day, I could not resist:

The little spice-o-meter picture on the bottle suggests that its actually hotter than Original Frank's Red Hot ... but after tasting a dab on my finger I disagreed.  So I decided to use this in a recipe I saw on the Active Foodie for Lightened Up Boneless Buffalo Strips that I bookmarked to try.

That particular recipe called for the Original Frank's, both in the marinade and for brushing on the strips after cooking. 

But I wanted to try the new chili sauce in place of the original Frank's + "chili garlic sauce" that the recipe called for in the marinade.  Also, I brushed half the strips with the original Frank's and the other half with the sweet chili variety.

Both were delicious.

This one got not only an eyebrow raise but a "really good" rating from Mr. Vittles.  I'd have to agree, especially considering the strips were baked rather than fried.

And I won't eat buffalo wings anyway since, as you read in About Me, I don't do "bones."  Eww.


Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 t. salt
• 3 T. Frank's red hot sweet chili sauce
• 1 C. buttermilk
• 1 t. garlic, minced
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 C. panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 C. flour
• 1 1/2 t. paprika
• 1 t. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• cooking spray
• 1/4 C. Frank's Red Hot sauce

Whisk together buttermilk, salt, chili sauce, garlic, and vinegar.  Add chicken & marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray rack with cooking spray & place over baking sheet.

Combine panko, flour, paprika, cayenne & salt in a large bowl.  Dredge each piece of chicken in flour mixture and place on wire rack.

Spray chicken breasts with cooking spray, making sure to hit all parts of the chicken.  Cook for 10 minutes. Then turn pieces over and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until all pieces are golden brown.

When chicken is done, use pastry brush to coat each strip with Frank's Red Hot sauce.  Serve with blue cheese or ranch salad dressing as dip.

Recipe Adapted from The Active Foodie