Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad

It's going to be another scorcher in Minnesota today.  We are in yet another heat advisory which means I will melt...I wish I was kidding.  I am not looking forward to the walk to the bus this afternoon.  It's absolutely miserable.  Sweat, people, crabbiness.  You don't want to see me around 4:40 this afternoon, it won't be pretty.  

When it is hot like this, the only think I can even think of eating is salad.  I know, I'm on a salad kick.  Between the Backyard BBQ Salad, the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad and the Teriyaki Chicken Salad I just can't help myself.  

This Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad has become a quick favorite.  We always have the ingredients on hand and it's pretty substantial with the sweet and spicy buffalo chicken on top.  This is what will be on our dinner table tonight.  

Start by chopping up  a few veggies.  Carrots

And celery.  Easy as that.

Meanwhile, grill up a few chicken breasts or as you see here, chicken tenders.  These were awesome for this recipe.  Remember to season them with salt and pepper.

While the chicken cooks, mix up a bit of buffalo chicken sauce.  You could just use the bottled stuff but, this really takes it to another level.  Pour some in a little sauce pan.

Add a bit of butter.

And brown sugar.  Stir it up and let it bubble away.  The brown sugar is keeey. Thanks Mr. Schwartz for that addition.  He doesn't mess around with buffalo chicken.

Get a bunch of lettuce.  We used one bag lettuce mix and chopped up one heart of Romaine.

Toss in the celery

And carrots.

Like so.

Add in some cheese as well.

By then your chicken should be grilled up.

Chop up that chicken

And pour the buffalo sauce over it. 

Toss the chicken in it and set it aside for now.

Pour some ranch dressing over the veggies and cheese.  I used this semi-homemade recipe. 

Toss the salad.

To serve, plate the salad and top with the buffalo chicken.

Now, someone get me a spiked popsicle.

Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad:

2-3 chicken breasts or about 8 chicken tenders
Salt and pepper to season

1 1/4 cup Buffalo Sauce (we like Frank's Red Hot)

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 bag of lettuce mix
1 heart of romaine, chopped
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup (or so depending on your taste) ranch dressing

Start by grilling the chicken breasts in a grill pan, on the grill or just in a large skillet on medium heat.  Make sure to season with salt and pepper and drizzle the pan with a bit of oil to prevent sticking.  Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink in the middle.

While the chicken grills/cooks, add the buffalo sauce, butter and brown sugar to a small sauce pan.  Place it on the stove on medium heat and let it bubble away for about 3 minutes or so.  Remove from the heat.

When the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the heat and chop into small pieces.  Pour the buffalo sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.

Chop the veggies and lettuce. Put them in a large bowl and add the cheese.  Pour over the ranch dressing, a little at a time until everything is fully coated.

To serve, take the salad and add it to a large plate.  Top with chicken.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Remember when I made these? Then the next day I made these with the left over chicken?  Well this recipe, if I can even call it a recipe, begins with that same chicken.  I was feeling pretty tired after a long week last week and needed to come up with something very quick and easy for dinner.  These nachos definitely fit the bill.  We had a little Schwartz Happy Hour complete with this tasty grapefruit martini Mr. Schwartz concocted for me.  Deeee-lish.  

These nachos would be perfect for entertaining, watching the big game or as we had them, for dinner.  

Enjoy! 

Musical Selection: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by: The Proclaimers.  You are welcome. 

Start with the buffalo pulled chicken.  If you want the step by step, check out the beginning of this post.

Layer your favorite tortilla chips on a baking sheet.  Add a little chicken to each chip.  This doesn't look like a lot but the chicken is pretty spicy so I used it sparingly.

Top that with some cheese.  I used a yellow and white cheddar mix.

Repeat.  Layer with chips, chicken then cheese.

Up-close and personal.

Pop it in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Oh baby, check out that melty cheese.

Top with chopped celery and you are all set!  See how easy that was!?  Mr. Schwartz tried both drizzling ranch dressing and topping it with sour cream.  He said he liked the sour cream best.  I didn't use any, I can take the heat.  Guess that's why I'm always in the kitchen.  Juuust kidding, honey.  not.

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Buffalo Chicken Nachos

For the Chicken: 

4 Chicken breasts
1 bottle (or 2 1/2 cups) Franks Red Hot Sauce or your favorite buffalo sauce
2 tablespoons butter

Start by bringing a medium sauce pan filled 1/2 way with water to a boil.  Add the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Remove the chicken from the pan and shred with two forks.  Return the chicken to the pan and add the butter and hot sauce.  Bring to a simmer and cover while you prepare the slaw.  This mixture can simmer on the stove up to about an hour.  If it looks like it is getting dry add a bit more hot sauce.

For the Nachos: 

Tortilla chips, white or yellow 

2 Cups cheddar cheese.  I'm sure you could use really any melty cheese you have on hand (mozzarella, pepper jack, monetary jack)

4 ribs of celery, chopped

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.  

On a large cookie or baking sheet (it's easier if it has sides, then your nachos won't end up on the kitchen or oven floor) place a single layer of chips.  Top each chip with a little bit of chicken.  Then top that with cheese.  Repeat.  Chips, chicken, cheese.  

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  

Top with celery and serve with ranch dressing or sour cream if you wish.  

If you have left over chicken here are two recipes you can use the left overs for: 

Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Celery Blue Cheese Slaw

or

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

All recipes in this post by: Mrs. Schwartz  

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Did you make the Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with the Blue Cheese Celery Slaw last night like I told you?  I hope so because umm... then you could make these Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas!  I made them today and Mr. Schwartz said they were "happily delicious."  Whatever that means.  

But, make these, I'm telling you, they. are. awesome.  And stay tuned, fun stuff as in ahem, A GIVEAWAY is coming soon.  Like tomorrow if I can get it figured out!  Yay!  This is going to be fun. 

Now off to watch the Golden Globes.  Wee! 

Musical Selection:  I Wanna Die by: Miranda Lambert.  If I was a good singer I would belt this out in karaoke for sure.  I seriously visualize myself singing it every time I listen to it.  I'm a dork. 

Start by drizzling a little canola oil into a large skillet on medium high heat.

Place a flour tortilla in the pan and use your hand to spread around the oil evenly.

Add some mozzarella cheese.  Mr. Schwartz added cheddar too.  Use whatever cheese you have on hand.

Add the pulled buffalo chicken.  I microwaved it just a bit to take the chill off.

Top with additional cheese.  This will assist the quesadilla to stick together.

Top with another tortilla. Let cook for about two minutes or until the cheese begins to melt and the tortilla starts to brown like....

This.  Cook for an additional two minutes or until all the cheese has melted.

Cut into triangles.

And serve with the slaw.

Oh goodness, this is fantastic!  Happy leftover eating : ) 

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas 

2 large flour tortillas

1/2 cup mozzarella and or cheddar cheese 

1/2 cup pulled buffalo chicken (recipe found: here) 

left over Blue Cheese and Celery Slaw (recipe found: here) 

Preheat a large skillet with a drizzle of canola or vegetable oil.  Place one of the tortillas in the skillet and move it around to distribute the oil evenly.  Add 1/4 cup of the cheese on top of the tortilla.  Place the buffalo chicken (I heated mine up in the microwave for about two minutes on high first) on the cheese and top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.  Place the other tortilla on top. 

Cook for about two minutes and flip the quesadilla and cook for an additional two minutes or until all of the cheese is melted.  Cut into triangles and enjoy with the slaw! 

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz 

Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with a Celery Blue Cheese Slaw

Sounds almost fancy doesn't it?  Naw, this is just a little something I saw on Pinterest then came up with my own recipe!

This came together so fast, it was perfect for a Thursday evening dinner on the fly.  It was my first time poaching chicken too, can you believe it?  I had no idea what I was missing.  Poaching the chicken was perfect for this because I needed to get it shredded and didn't want any hard pieces.  I even put the chicken in a little frozen and it came out perfectly.  

Give this recipe a try and make extra chicken and saw, I've got something even better to do with these left overs! The buffalo chicken saga continues...

Musical Selection: Smoke a Little Smoke by: Eric Church.  This is my jam.  I will never forget dancing to this with my best friends and husband at the bar following our wedding.  It makes me really happy.  

 Okay, like I said, poach the chicken.  Bring some water to a boil in a medium sauce pan.  Place the chicken breasts into the water and cook for about 10 minutes or until you cut into them and they are no longer pink.

 Then, give them a shred.  I find the best method is taking two forks and pulling the chicken apart.  Hence the "pulled chicken."

 Put the chicken into a sauce pan (I just wiped out the one I poached in) with a little butter and Franks Red Hot Sauce or your favorite buffalo sauce.

 Bring it to a simmer and start working on the slaw.  I let this go for maybe even an hour while I waited for Mr. Schwartz to make his way home.  Note: don't take a whiff of this stuff while it's boiling, yow talk about cleaning out the sinuses!

 Okay, for the slaw, chop up some celery.

 Add it to a 1/2 of a bag of cole slaw mix.

 Pour in some of your favorite ranch dressing. I suppose you could use blue cheese but Mr. Schwartz is not a fan.

 Give it a stir.  At this point I took 1/2 of the slaw out of this bowl and set it aside for Mr. Schwartz.

And I added a little blue cheese crumbles to mine! Yum.

 Assemble the sandwiches by placing the chicken on the bun, then slaw and top with the other side of the bun.

These are spicy little devils but ooooh are they good.  We just happened to accompany them with ice cold beers and it was divine!  

**Remember, make extra, I have a great recipe coming with the leftovers!!!!**


Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with a Celery Blue Cheese Slaw
For the chicken:
4 Chicken breasts
1 bottle (or 2 1/2 cups) Franks Red Hot Sauce or your favorite buffalo sauce
2 tablespoons butter

For the slaw:
1 bag cole slaw (or about 3 cups)
2 ribs of celery, coarsely chopped
1 cup ranch dressing (or blue cheese)
1/4 cup (or more to your liking) blue cheese crumbles

Hamburger buns for serving

Start by bringing a medium sauce pan filled 1/2 way with water to a boil.  Add the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Remove the chicken from the pan and shred with two forks.  Return the chicken to the pan and add the butter and hot sauce.  Bring to a simmer and cover while you prepare the slaw.  This mixture can simmer on the stove up to about an hour.  If it looks like it is getting dry add a bit more hot sauce.

Combine the cole slaw mix, celery, dressing and blue cheese crumbles together.  Add additional dressing to your liking.

Assemble the sandwiches with the chicken on the bottom topped with slaw.

Enjoy with a cold beer : )

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz