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Food, Savory

Buffalo Chicken, Bacon, and Cheddar Bites

Oh! An oven that works. How I took the for granted all these years. I house sat for a friend (ok, cat sat, the house was fine) and had access to a working oven. So happy that I decided to make some goodies for a group of friends. Nothing better than a guest who shows up with snacks, right?

Anyway, all I knew was that I wanted something with bacon. And so when I was standing at the meat counter asking for four slices of bacon, I notice some buffalo chicken tenders marinating in the case. Lets just say a few came home with me.

I tossed some cheddar in the cart and a container of pastry dough. A little slaving over the stove and bam, we had a winner.

It ended up being a hit. Not surprising, since the roll ups had bacon, cheddar, and buffalo chicken in them. Like a trifecta of love.

Buffalo Chicken, Bacon, and Cheddar Bites

Gather:

4 oz. extra sharp cheddar, shredded
4 slices of apple smoked bacon, diced
4 buffalo chicken tenders, minced*
1 can of Pilsbury refrigerated dough sheets

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll dough sheet onto a cookie sheet, allow to reach room tempature.

In a sauce pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and let cool on paper towels (to remove some of the grease). There will be some fat rendered in the pan, remove half then add diced chicken to pan. Cook chicken thoroughly. Remove from pan.

In a bowl, toss bacon, chicken, and cheddar. Meats should be cooled, so cheddar will not melt into the mixture. Spread evenly on dough sheet.

Along the long edge, slowly roll up the sheet, making sure to have mixture between dough. You would end up with a spirl if you were to look at the side when cut open. Leave sealed and place on cookie sheet into oven.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until dough is golden brown. You might see some cheese melting out, that’s fine. Remove from oven and let cool for 20 to 40 minutes.

When loaf is completely cool, slice into rings and serve.
*If you can’t find some at your supermarket meat counter, just marinate chicken tenders in 1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot sauce and 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter overnight.

November 5, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Maple Ham and Cheddar Pinwheels

I recently was asked to bring something to a potluck lunch. Since I still can’t bake in our oven at home, I knew I had to make something I could bake in the office kitchen. Something quick I could prep the night before. So I spent about an hour looking through Pinterest until I came across pinwheels. Most were spinach, but I saw one with lunchmeat ham and cheddar.

I can do better, I thought. So, I bought a ham steak and went to work.

Maple Ham and Cheddar Pinwheels

One cup of water, one tablespoon of brown sugar, one tablespoon of white sugar, and half a pound of diced ham steak into a pan and we got ourselves the makings of good food. Not to forget the two tablespoons of maple syrup I dropped into the mix as well. As the kitchen filled with the glorious scent of maple, I rolled out the crescent roll dough and smothered it with shredded cheddar cheese.

Ham mixture all boiled down until it was sticky, then I put that on top of the cheese.

Nom, nom, nom. If the dough wasn’t raw, I would have ate it just like that.

Rolled up the mixture the long way, wrapped it in plastic wrap and let it stay in the fridge overnight.

The next day I cut it up into one-and-a-half slices, placed them on a baking sheet, and then baked them at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes. Basically until they were golden brown and cooked through. So good. I should have made more.

September 22, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I think my roommate is in love with me. Let me back up, it was momentary love. And it might have just been the fact that he was actually in love with the smell of Frank’s Red Hot wafting out of the kitchen and into the hallway. I totally respect a Frank’s Red Hot love.

You see, a few weeks ago I tried to make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, but failed miserably when I used cayenne instead of hot sauce. Yeah, you can’t just substitute hot sauce out, it’s integral. Anyway, I thought I’d give it another go. This time going right for the jugular. I caved and went to the store to buy Frank’s (my favorite hot sauce and go to condiment). What happened after is a secret between me and you, my blogger buddies. You see, I needed someone there to stop me. Someone to say, “no, don’t eat that.” Because they didn’t make it through the night. I actually ate the entire batch in one sitting (with the exception of one my roommate ate). Sickening, I know. But I’ll be honest, they were delicious.

If you’d like to fall down the tragic path I did, please follow my lead:

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Gather:
1 pound of ground chicken
1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1/4 cup of pre-cooked couscous
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Cooking spray

Heat a skillet on medium heat. While that is getting warm, mix chicken, hot sauce, couscous, and cheddar cheese together in a bowl until everything is evenly mixed together.

Spray pan with cooking spray. Roll meat mixture into one-inch balls. Place balls in pan and cook through. That’s about 4 minutes a side, rotating them until the outsides are brown and the insides are cooked. Be aware, though, if you over stuff your pan, your chicken won’t brown because there will be too much moisture in the pan.

September 11, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Tomato and Spinach Scramble

Full of vitamins, fiber, magnesium, calcium, and keeping my pant size tiny. Hello, spinach.

I’m learning to love this green leafy vegetable. No, I’m not eating a plateful of cooked spinach for dinner. Although, that did happen once when I was living in France. Host mom invited me to eat lunch with the family one day (they only were required to feed me breakfast and dinner) and when I said yes, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Turns out a plateful of spinach apparently looks appetizing to some people. She did offer up some cheese for me to sprinkle on top, but that didn’t put a dent into the overwhelming amount of greens I had eaten.

Anyway, on a more modern note, I started tossing it into my breakfast. A little olive oil heated in the pan, then tossed in some diced tomato and spinach. Cooked it up, added some garlic powder and let it saute for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Add in two eggs, scramble and cook until eggs are done.

Quick, easy breakfast. And not too much spinach.

September 7, 2013 by Roni

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