Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

The idea for this dinner came to me while working at Target. Archer Farms has several noodle and rice ready-to-go products, and one of them was Buffalo Mac and Cheese. I love love love buffalo sauce, so I thought it would be interesting to make this from scratch. After searching online, I found a recipe on Recipe Zaar. I use Ken's Buffalo Marinade a lot when it comes to chicken (chicken patties, wings, hell I think even a hot dog once), and it's no surprise I used it when it calls for buffalo wing sauce. You can probably use another brand of wing sauce or make your own. Worst case scenario you can use plain hot sauce, but it won't be as thick. In a pinch, you can use canned chicken breast instead of frozen. Or leave it out altogether. This dish is as spicy as the wing sauce. If it's too much to handle, mix in a litle bit of ranch, sour cream, or cream cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese




1 lb elbow macaroni, uncooked
24 oz chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz buffalo wing sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup celery or bell pepper, chopped
Ranch, sour cream, or cream cheese (optional)

1. Cook the macaroni in a pot of boiling salted water.

2. While the pasta is cooking, whisk the milk and flour together in a bowl, then pour into a saucepan, bringing it to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and stir in chicken, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, wing sauce, and bell pepper. Cook until the cheese melts. Add some ranch, sour cream, or cream cheese if the sauce is too spicy.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and stir in the cheese mixture.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Recipe Zaar

A Party Must

I ensure you that any party is not complete without some Buffalo Chicken Dip. If you love hot sauce, you will love this dip. I first heard of this dip when my roommate's mom made it for her. Then at one of my meetings at school, the guy in charge brought leftover dip from his Superbowl party. I knew I had to make this myself, so I searched for a good recipe. This one comes from Recipe Zaar. I also completed #87 from my list - dip.

Buffalo Chicken Dip




2 cups canned chicken or cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Nachoes for dipping

Preheat oven to 350F. In a skillet, saute chicken and hot sauce until hot. Add pepper, cream cheese, and ranch. Cook and stir until cream cheese has melted completely. Spoon into 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 30 minutes. Serve warm with nachoes.

Source: Recipe Zaar

A Love I Can't Handle

I love trying new foods. I've eaten some pretty unusual things for the thrill - sushi, calamari, kangaroo, springbok. Habanero peppers aren't unusual, but they are new to me. I went to a local farmer's market (In my college town? I was surprised too) and saw habanero peppers for 25 cents.



I figured, hey I love spicy foods so I'll buy one. Yea, about that. Spicy food is great. My mouth may be on fire, but I'll still eat it. Or at least I thought. While looking for a way to use my pepper, I came across Basil Habanero Pesto. I used my [extremely loud] blender and combined the pesto with some angel hair. I knew habanero peppers were hot, but damn! I never drink a plain glass of milk but was soon forced with this amount of heat. I could only eat 3/4 of my pasta. The combination of flavors were amazing, so if you can handle the heat, give this pesto a try.

My cookbook is still up for grabs. Any takers?