Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

This is a great recipe for people who like the flavor of buffalo wings but don't like the mess of chicken wings. 

This is a quick and easy meal to prepare!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

    Buffalo Chicken Salad
Prep time: Minimal     Cook time: about 12 minutes

10 cups spring salad mix
8-10 chicken tenders, uncooked
assorted veggies, cut up
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup red hot sauce
salt and pepper

Optional:
crumbled blue cheese  
croutons 

 Heat your skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil. Place chicken tenders in skillet, add desired amount of salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. 

 While chicken is cooking Place salad mix in large bowl with the prepared veggies. Turn chicken breasts over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until done.  

Remove Chicken from the skillet and set aside. Melt the butter in pan. Add the red hot sauce and stir and scrape bottom of pan. Place chicken back in the pan on top of sauce. Cook for about 2 minutes. Turn chicken and cook for another 2 minutes. 
Top salad mix and veggies with the chicken and add Blue Cheese Vinaigrette.

These tenders are also great as a main dish without salad. 

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

     
You can make the dressing while the chicken is cooking or mix it before you start cooking.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (double batch pictured)

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

 2 tbsp vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp dried Italian seasoning
½ tsp mayo
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

In a large bowl, add first five ingredients. Whisk until well blended. Add blue cheese. 

Transfer to jar for serving and storing. 

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

      
 You may need to spoon some of the blue cheese from the bottom of the jar while serving.

Keeps for a few days in the fridge.

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Serves 4-5

 
Enjoy!


Until next time! 
 

Caramel Vodka Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Vodka Buttercream

Caramel Vodka Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Vodka Buttercream

If you've been reading my blog you might have noticed that for the most part I like recipes that are easy. Sure, every now and then I like to get fancy but usually I like to make things as quick and easy in the kitchen as I possibly can. 

It's also nice to take something basic and kick it up a notch. That's what this cupcake is all about. They're made with a box mix which adds to the easy factor.

This is a nice treat for the adults at your next picnic or party. Not all of the alcohol cooks out of the cupcakes and the frosting has straight up vodka so you wouldn't want to let the kiddos have these.

Caramel Vodka Cupcakes

Prep time: minimal   Cook time: 18-20 min.

Box of yellow cake mix

Ingredients to make cake according to the box

¼ cup caramel flavored vodka

Mix cake mix according to box directions but substitute ¼ cup of vodka for ¼ cup of the water called for on box. Example; if the box calls for 1 cup of water, add ¾ cup water and ¼ cup vodka

Bake according to box directions. Usually about 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely. 

Caramel Vodka Cupcakes

Whipped Cream Vodka Buttercream

 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

3 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tbsp whipped cream vodka

Cream the butter and sugar together. Slowly add the vodka. Add the first 2 tbsp one at a time. Add additional vodka ½ tsp at a time to reach a smooth consistency.

Whipped Cream Vodka Buttercream

Optional Toppings

salted caramel chocolate candy

caramel ice cream topping

Frost the cooled cupcakes and decorate with optional ingredients. 

Caramel Vodka Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Buttercream

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Until next time!

Buffalo Chicken Jalapeño Poppers

I LOVE buffalo sauce flavored foods.
Who's with me? 
I can't be the only one that looks at a menu and am drawn to any dish that starts out as "Buffalo chicken ...". 

I also like Jalapeño Poppers so this is a Win-Win situation!

Just look at 'em! Don't you want to eat a couple of these right now?!

Buffalo Chicken Jalapeño Poppers 

I was hungry for something spicy when I thought of these delicious little apps but then I thought about switching it up a little and replacing the chicken with shrimp. I was excited to get in the kitchen and start experimenting.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to make buffalo chicken or buffalo shrimp jalapeño poppers, so I made both.

Click here to get the Buffalo Shrimp Jalapeño Poppers recipe.

 Buffalo Chicken Jalapeño Poppers

Prep Time: 20 minutes       Cook Time: about 25 minutes

10-12 large jalapeño peppers

1½ cups cooked chicken,shredded*
8 ounce cream cheese, softened  
¼-½ cups Franks Original Red Hot sauce
¼ cup blue cheese salad dressing 
½ cup Cheddar cheese, shredded 
½ cup tortilla chips, crushed
¼ cup panko bread crumbs


ALWAYS wear gloves when you are working with the peppers or you will be in pain later. Trust me! Many years ago I didn't have gloves when I worked with  jalapeños and paid the price. 

 Cut the peppers in half, lengthwise, leaving the stems intact. Clean the seeds and membrane out of the peppers. Most of the heat is in the membrane so you want to remove most, if not all, of that.

*Remember to have your chicken cooked before you plan to start making the poppers. Here's a tip for shredding your cooked chicken: put the chicken in your KitchenAid stand mixer with the hook attachment and turn on low to medium. After the chicken is shredded, I remove it from the bowl, measure out the amount needed, put that back in the bowl with the additional ingredients, and mix. 

Mix the cooked and shredded chicken, softened cream cheese, Red Hot (amount depends on how hot you like it), and blue cheese dressing until well blended. 

Fill the peppers with the mixture using a spoon. Fill to the top of the pepper. If you have extra filling you can go back and add to the already filled peppers. Place on baking sheet.

Place a small amount of shredded Cheddar cheese on each pepper.

Top with crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkle of panko bread crumbs.

Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 20-25 minutes. 

Serves 10-12. 
Makes 20-24 poppers. 

 

Buffalo Chicken Jalapeño Poppers

   
Enjoy!


Until next time!