Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

The idea for this gem came from Pinterest.  Something I just seem to be getting the hang of (watch out world, that probably means it's on the way "out") is this whole Pinterest thing.  Anyway, my version wasn't at all like what I saw; it just closely matched what I had on hand.

This is just the thing to use up some leftover chicken breasts (I do like to bake a few extra and throw them in the freezer).  And it really is like eating dip on bread, in a good way.


Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
3 T cream cheese, softened
2 T mayo
2 T Frank's wing sauce
2 chopped cooked chicken breasts
1/4 c bleu cheese
Mix all of the above together and spread on bread.  Grill on a panini press.

Butternut Squash and Bleu Cheese Pasta

This meal was yummy.  Seriously seriously excellent.  We had a large swim meet the other weekend, and it took a bit of organizing and planning to have good meals the following week.  I'm not complaining, because I do like being a volunteer at activities my child has chosen, but it's a lot to have 12-16 hour days at a pool on a weekend and turn around and get ready for the week.  Both girls raved about my awesome meals which made me really happy because the weekend prior was CRAZY.

The swim meet was a blast with Olympians swimming along with our age groupers.  There is a bit of added stress with the parking situation, trying to get my girls where they need to be and being the assistant volunteer coordinator.  And baking some potatoes and making dip in between for the coaches.  I shouldn't forget about snow removal duties on the homefront either. Ah...what fun!  And work is really really busy right now:)

I bought a value package of chicken breasts and parceled that out into 3 meals the week following the meet. and this was the other recipe.  The picture doesn't show much squash; however, there was plenty of squash in most helpings as well.

Preventionrd's meals tend to be a good place for me to find a recipe or two. I changed this a bit from her original using skim milk instead of the 2%.

Creamy Butternut Squash Cavatappi
4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash aka one squash's worth
2 1/2 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp kosher salt, 
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 
8 oz uncooked cavatappi
1 cup (~1/2) onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup skim, divided
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 large egg yolks
2 oz blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine squash, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil,  salt, and  pepper on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 425 F for 24 minutes or until tender, stirring once.

Cook the pasta. Drain pasta; keep warm.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in 1/2 cup milk. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, and yolks in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add egg mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently with a whisk.

Combine squash, pasta, and milk mixture in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Steak and Bleu Cheese Roll-ups

Bleu Cheese Steak Roll Ups 

I'm not a huge red meat kind of gal; however, I do think there is value in having this bit of protein on occasion, so this recipe sounded good.  It just sounded like something a bit outside of what I usually make....and it's made in the crockpot, so it seemed like a good plan for it to be on the menu at our house!

Let me just say, this was about the most un-photogenic thing I have ever made; however, it tasted great.  I used about 3/4 pound flat steak and pounded it flat.  It was in the crockpot for an entire long time day....I'm talking probably 12 hours, so it just fell apart.  It tasted good though!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I don't know how it is in other parts of the country/world.  But in the midwest...when someone dies or is sick..people bring food (and toilet paper).  When my mother in law died a few months ago, the Fargonians were put into action with keeping us well fed.   We received delicious caramel rolls, and every type of hot dish (this is North Dakota, so it's not a casserole) imaginable, and soup and desserts.  One of the things that was really memorable was this Buffalo chicken in a crockpot.  My in law's neighbors provided dinner one night and came with boxes of food.  What was so impressive about this meal is that they really thought of everyone.  Although one crockpot had this spicy chicken...another just had plain.  There was an egg free dessert for the allergic person along with another dessert for others.  It really was considerate.  Extra considerate.

This chicken was made by a former neighbor.  If you're tracking this, it was made by my husband's sister's former neighbor who is now a current neighbor of our nephew and family.  Just sayin'----that's how things work in North Dakota!

It seemed like it would be more complicated than this.  But it's just...make shredded chicken and add wing sauce. I put a bit of water in the crockpot with the chicken breasts.  Once cooked the meat was drained, shredded, mixed with some wing sauce and frozen celery I found in the bottom of the freezer and put back in the slowcooker.  It was a 2 day event at this house.  The original did not have the celery, but I'm trying to empty the freezer in anticipation of vegetable overload this summer. 

Yum...a bit of bleu cheese and some shredded cabbage really took this to the next level!
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Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Bleu Cheese

 Mark Bittman's Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese
Hmm...what's not to like?  OK, so some people may say bleu cheese, and some may say figs, and some may say Brussels sprouts.....we like all of the above, so I thought we would enjoy all of this together as well.

Recipe slumps happen.  In fact, I was just discussing this with my friend, Dee, over coffee the other week.  The day we were talking about it I had just checked Mark Bittman's cookbook, The Food Matters Cookbook, out of the library. I was trying to prevent a cooking slump by getting a few recipes in order to have them ready to go.  I can tell when I need to try something new.  For the past few weeks I haven't posted too many new recipes since we have been eating some old favorites.  OK, it was for the sake of the blog I was thinking about new things even though revisiting old recipes has been fun.  I know that when I shuffle through recipes like shuffling through my closet looking for something exciting to wear..it's time for a new sweater.  Or in this case, some new recipes.

Back to my coffee with Dee.  She is currently having "Vintage Cooking" fun.  She's making some of her favorites from childhood and from her early days of wedded bliss.  That's a fun idea to change things up with recipes.  It does get tiring keeping it interesting...and it's good to mix it up a bit.  Kinda like exercising....Body Combat being the new addiction in this house.

We have some friends who do "vat" cooking.  They make a huge batch of soup or chili and eat it all week.  The wife thinks her husband must have been a prison cook in a former life. We get tired of eating the same old thing multiple times, so that doesn't work well for us.  It does work if I make a large batch to freeze part of it for lunches or another dinner though. 

Sometimes, as I have mentioned before, I plan meals around the cuisine....Italian, Thai, Mexican.  Dee plans hers around the protein...chicken, chicken, fish, pork, occasional beef.  Elizabeth has planned around utensil.  Maybe the trick is to mix up the planning method?  I don't have the answer on this one...just a few ideas, I guess.  I just know that I always feel better when I have plan..whatever the plan may be.  I guess that goes for things other than meals/cooking for me.  I do like to have a plan (no comments on that anyone). 

I pulled a few recipes from this cookbook with the hope of trying them in the next few weeks. This one looked like it was going to be the first one on my plan but ended up being down a bit on the list.  Just because it takes a special day for me to be able to throw this in the oven an hour before serving.

I made this one the other night when Eleanor had a friend over working on a school project.  I love her friend, Arian.  I asked if she would like some pasta and told her the ingredients.  her response was that she would love to try it!  She said she liked it too:)

I used dried figs in making this and avoiding the almonds.  I was planning to put some pumpkin seeds on it for a bit of crunch but forgot.  A crunch would be nice too.  There was a nice combination of flavors...very slightly sweet and salty. 



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Squash and Gorgonzola and Arugula Pizza

I was looking for some meal ideas a couple weeks ago and came across this one on the foodnetwork website (see link above). The funny thing about this is that I had tried a pizza with squash a few years ago but never recorded the recipe. I found this one...then got the current issue of Self magazine (to use up frequent flyer miles on some airline we rarely use) and found another recipe with squash on pizza.

On a recent Sunday I peeled, chopped, and roasted the squash and put the remaining pieces in the freezer. That means I can try the version from the magazine as well. It doesn't look too different just mixing the type of cheese and the type of greens. I think squash...already cooked...just may be one of my favorite freezer items.

So this has become the blog post of links...follow the magazine link to that recipe or the link from the title to the one more similar to the one I made.

I used cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella since I prefer using an open package rather than opening a new one. I used butternut squash and did not roast it with maple syrup but instead with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Rave reviews at this house from all, so I will make it again!
(above picture before it is baked)
(below picture hot out of the oven)


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Farfalle and Broccoli Salad with Gorgonzola Dressing

This recipe is a usual rotation in our house in the summer. We do have many things on the summer rotation...but it does mean that I make this more than one time in the summer. One of my favorite foods is Sendik's (our local grocery store) chicken pasta salad with grapes and artichokes. I think that this recipe could be made with those items to be close to that yummy deli delight; however, I usually make the recipe pretty close to how it is listed in the link.

It's nice to have a bowl of this in the refrigerator for weekend lunches, work lunches, or a lighter dinner option.

Summer is here!!
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Steak and Bleu Cheese Pizza

Another fun meal on a crust.

Carmelize the onions, grill or bake the steak. I pulled a steak out of the freezer when Paul was grilling pork tenderloin and had him throw this on as well. That way I could freeze the cooked steak only to pull it out of the freezer again to make this pizza for a quick weeknight meal.

Top the pizza with both.....add some bleu cheese...and sliced tomatoes....bake....and serve.

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Gorgonzola Spinach Pasta

This is one of those "made up" recipes that we have at our house on occasion. Long ago, it used to be my standard thing to throw together if I didn't get a chance to plan a meal. Being a mom has made planning a bit more of a priority, so I don't need to resort to this recipe too often, but, it still is good...even if I plan it into our menu.

Eleanor could eat carbs every day for every meal, but Paul and I like a bit more variety. If I make this, she can have plain noodles and we're all happy with our own bowl of carbs.

Start boiling water for pasta...because this recipe comes together quickly!

In a saucepan melt some gorgonzola cheese along with a bit of milk (skim is fine) to thin the sauce. These should be in approximately equal measures. If you have thought ahead and defrosted some of the greens from the CSA box (or a frozen box of spinach), that's great! If not, put the greens in a colander and run some hot water over them until they are defrosted. Squeeze the water out and throw the greens into the saucepan. Depending on the consistency, it may be necessary to add a bit more cheese or a bit more milk. When it is all smooth and creamy add a dash or two of nutmeg. I had a mixture of kale and chard that I had steamed and frozen last summer, so that is what I used.

That's it. Really. Unless you want to top it with some sun dried tomatoes or chopped roasted red peppers or a couple grinds of pepper.
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Bacon and Bleu Cheese Cake

When we pick up children from violin group class on Friday nights, the parents often roll down car windows and talk about books and about recipes. Last fall my friend Kathy was mentioning both. Kathy, just so you know who she is, gave me the recipe for arugula pizza and for mozzarella and tomato pasta as well as good book recommendations over the years. She was talking about the book The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz and mentioned that there is a recipe for a bleu cheese and bacon cake. I went home and reserved the book from the library online right away.

I loved the book, and even more, loved this savory cake. My brother in law's very favorite food is bacon and I think bleu cheese isn't far behind. I wish I could have made this for his recent birthday but it would be better and fresher if my sister makes it for him. I really meant to get the link to her earlier, but I bet it will be appreciated any day of the year.

So, follow the link above to the recipe. Oh, and find the book too.....this isn't the only recipe that looks good in the book.
YUM!

Fig and Bleu Cheese Pizza

What a great combination of flavors!
I made thin crust dough (double recipe) because I have learned my lesson on the three of us and quantity. See blog post from 9/23/10 for that recipe.

I carmelized some red onions (2..because that is what I had). That is, I sliced them and cooked them in olive oil very slowly over low heat for an hour or so stirring occasionally. It really went like this...stir onions, put in a load of laundry, stir onions, pay bills, stir onions, clean bathrooms, etc. Then, I put some salt and pepper on them and stirred. When I thought that they were just about done I put a tablespoon or so of water in the pan and deglazed it. I turned off the heat and held them until I was ready to assemble the pizza after sprinkling it with some balsamic vinegar. They can be made a few days in advance, if that works better schedule-wise.

For the pizza:
carmelized onions
bleu cheese
fresh figs, quartered

I baked it until the cheese was starting to melt. Then, I topped it with the figs and onions and baked it a couple minutes more, until it was warmed through. Sprinkled it with balsamic vinegar (the good 18 year old stuff) and served it.

Yum...simple and delicious.
Next time, maybe bacon? maybe some arugula?

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I love the flavors of chicken wings but don't like the whole messy wing eating process. So, I thought of putting the flavors together without the mess. I thought I was being really original; however, I did see this on a menu at Buffalo Wild Wings. Anyway, here's my version:

The night I made this version I used the pizza dough recipe from arugula pizza post(9/23 post). I did make two of these since one pizza with thin crust isn't usually enough for the three of us (we are all big eaters...guess that's why we work out).

I baked the crusts after brushing with olive oil for a few minutes and then sprinkled them with the bleu cheese and chicken. The chicken breast was in the freezer from a warehouse club rotisserie chicken, so I just pulled it out to thaw in the morning. I drizzled wing sauce on it and baked until just warm. Then, I put some diced celery on it and served.

Yum...the taste of wings without the mess!

Grilled pizza....another version

Grilled pizza ideas abound in this book. I checked this book out from the local library and found so many good ideas that I have checked it out a few times as well as written some of the ideas on recipe cards. I do have another grilled pizza recipe that I have used more frequently but am enjoying getting new ideas.

Last Saturday was International Bacon Day and coincidentally we were having bacon on our pizza. I guess I could pretend that it wasn't a coincidence....but it really was. I used the pizza dough recipe in the book instead of my usual grilled pizza dough recipe. The reason...an adventure, I guess.

There was a B-BLT(bacon, bleu cheese, lettuce and tomato) pizza recipe in the book. I did not follow the recipe exactly but used it as an inspiration. The recipe recommended grilling the lettuce, but I didn't do that because it just didn't sound that good to me. Instead I used the lettuce for a side salad. We did an individual pizza for each person because it's easier to handle smaller pizzas on the grill. Also, then everyone gets their own pizza just the way they like it! I didn't make the tomato sauce called for in the recipe but rather put out the toppings for everyone to create their own pizza.

I was excited to eat this all day...fresh tomatoes and fresh lettuce were both in the CSA box this week. I usually buy the 3-pack of bacon from the warehouse club and freeze 2 packs. The other package we seem to go through a couple slices at a time with various pasta and pizza recipes. The three packages usually last a few months and we have found it's a great addition to so many recipes.

Grilling the crusts can be a bit tricky. My husband is the pizza griller and says his secret is a hot fire, quick rotation of the crusts, and watch closely. Then the crusts come in the house and toppings are put on the already grilled side of the dough. The crusts are heated quickly to warm the ingredients...then served.

Having the juicy tomatoes on the crust made me realize that the crust should be brushed with olive oil before putting the tomatoes on it. Other than that, this is a pretty simple and tasty dinner.

I would make this again....and I won't wait for International Bacon Day to make it next!