Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

It's back to school time.

If you're like me, that makes dinner time crazy and hectic!

Working full time, plus running kids to and from all of their extra-curriculars... it's challenging to get dinner on the table at a decent time.

On busy nights like that, Rotisserie Chicken is your friend!!
(really, it's always your friend!)

As is, you can just add a couple sides and dinner is served.

Or just pull it apart to toss into sandwiches or quesadillas or to top hearty dinner salads.

Look at them.



Aren't they beautiful?

They exist solely to make your life easier!

Take advantage of that!!

These are wicked easy!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
1 Rotisserie Chicken
Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Ranch Dressing
Blue Cheese, crumbled
Sandwich Rolls
Lettuce

No real measurements here. Everything is pretty much to your taste/liking.

Combine Ranch Dressing with Crumbled Blue Cheese.




You could just use blue cheese dressing... but I like to combine it myself.

Put shredded rotisserie chicken in a separate bowl.


Add Frank's Red Hot.


Like is saucier? Add more sauce!

Drier you say? Don't put in as much!



This is so fast and easy, I have time to grill the buns.


They came out so nice and golden brown.


Add some shreddy lettuce.


Some of that moist delicious Buffalo Chicken.


A big dollop of Ranchy Blue Cheese Sauce.


And in less than 15 minutes... you're sitting at the table, talking about the new cute boy/girl in school... or which cheers they're practicing for the big game on Saturday... or the new plays for that big game... how much they love/hate their new math teacher... the new songs they're learning on their instruments...

Anyway... in less than 15 minutes your sitting at the table!

You can't beat that!!


Don't you hate it when that final shot is blurry... even though you took at least six of them!!

Everyone not eating at the same time tonight? These are also wicked easy to prep ahead so they can make sandwiches as they come and go.

Part of your night just got easier!

Smells like the 80s

So this blog is 'Just what's going on in my kitchen".

And every once in a while... it's Shake-n-Bake Pork Chops, Rice-a-Roni, Stove Top Stuffing, a Veggie (canned) and some kinda ready made Biscuits/Dinner Rolls!

One day last week was one of those days!!



My family LOVES these days!!!

We had fresh green beans... and no biscuits/bread... so it was a little better.

They often try to talk me into Cheesy Hashbrowns Hamburger Helper too!!

The Hamburger Helper days only happen once every couple of years (if they're lucky... or unlucky... I guess it depends on your POV!)

Every once in a while... that stuff is great!!

Dinner ROCKED!!!

Ham Salad Sandwich

I love Ham Salad. It's one of those sandwich salads, that I like smooth. No chunks!

I make this when I have leftover ham but often I'll buy some ham just to make Ham Salad.

You'll need:
Ham
Mustard
Mayo
Salt & Pepper
Bread

Put the ham into the food processor and pulse until it's ground.
If you don't have a food processor, you can just mince it really fine.


Add enough mayo & mustard to hold it together and salt & pepper.
That kinda looks like an egg... but it's mustard on top of mayo.


If you like it wetter add more... dryer add less... I like it just held together and mustardy. So I use more mustard.
You can use whatever kind of mustard you want. I like yellow for Ham Salad.


That's it.


Lunch time!


You could add onions or pickles or lettuce & tomato, whatever you like!

I like mine pretty basic.

Caramel Rice Crispy Treats

I was grocery shopping the other day and stumbled across Caramel Vanilla Marshmallows.

These stopped me in my tracks. Tawny LOVES caramel. I had to buy them and make something cool. Caramel Rice Crispy Treats! Yay!! Everyone will LOVE those!

I brought them home and brought the bag to Tawny's room to show her. I was expecting wide-eyed excitement at my find. But what did I get? The completely nonplussed reaction of a 16 year old! So I told her the reaction I expected. We practiced a few times. Then I showed her again. Yay! She was as excited as I was to find them! (hey... just let me believe it ok??)

So then I asked everyone what they thought I was going to do with them. They all said S'mores... even my mom when I was talking to her on the phone. They all thought Rice Crispy Treats were a better idea... but they all guessed S'mores. Weird...



Caramel Rice Crispy Treats
1 bag Caramel Vanilla Marshmallows (10 oz bag)
6 cups of crisp rice cereal
3 TBLS butter

Melt butter in a large pot.
Over low heat, melt Caramel Vanilla Marshmallows in butter.
Remove from heat and stir in crisp rice cereal.
Press into a greased 13 x 9 pan.
Cool, cut and enjoy!

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This is all you need.


Melt butter in a large pot (obviously pre-LEDs above stove!)


Melt Caramel Vanilla Marshmallows into butter.








Now remove from stove and stir in crisp rice cereal.




Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray and pour cereal mixture into it.


Spread it around.


It's easier to press it into the pan with your hand.


Cool... cut... and enjoy!!


These were good.... but I think we all agreed that we like them better with just plain marshmallows!

I have one more bag... maybe I'll make S'mores!

English Muffin Pizzas

I love English Muffin Pizzas. I can remember my mom making them occasionally when I was little.

They're cool, because they are really fast and I usually have everything in the house to at the very least make a plain cheese one!



You'll need:

English Muffins
Pizza sauce
Pizza cheese
Any pizza toppings you like

I do these a couple at at time in my toaster oven. I could make them all at once in the oven, but I 'think' it's cheaper to use the toaster oven, than waiting for the whole oven to heat and doing them in there. I could be wrong though. It wouldn't be the first time!

Plus this way, the kids can eat as the pizzas come out. Otherwise everyone has to wait for me to sit down before they can eat. It's a pet peeve. (and good manners... HELLO!!!???) I HATE to see people eating before mom. (not just me... any mom... or the main cook in the house) We slave in the kitchen to feed our families and they gobble everything down and are on seconds before we even sit down. Thankfully mine are well trained and wait.

Ummmmm.... Sorry... totally sidetracked there!! ~wicked pet peeve~

Anyway... it's a treat for them to be able to eat immediately... especially something fun like English Muffin Pizzas!

So I like to heat each step of these. That way they seem to be heated all the way through better than assembling the whole thing, then cooking them.

Toppings are limited only by your imagination.

This is what I had on hand.


Split the English muffins and pop them into the toaster oven.


You don't want to toast them all crispy and golden, like you were having them for breakfast. These will be making a few more trips to the toaster oven and will crisp up plenty. Just warm and very light.


Now add sauce.


Back into the toaster oven, just to heat up the sauce. (I suppose you could start with heated sauce, but that just this second occurred to me!)
The sauce soaks in a little during heating.


Now for cheese & toppings... back into the toaster oven until golden & melty.


Pepperoni for Lilly and Pepperoni with Extra Cheese for Bobby.




Garlic... Pepperoni for Jon, Onions, Green Peppers & Pepperoni for Tawny.






Garlic, Onion, Green Peppers & Tomatoes for me.


But I noticed Practical Magic was on TV while I was making these and got side-tracked with Midnight Margaritas... so mine are well-done... I like them well done anyway!


And I just noticed that not a SINGLE pizza had Italian Seasoning on it!! I sprinkle that on the top of most of the pizzas I make!

Oh well... I don't remember noticing then!

These are a fun lunch or dinner... or a wicked good snack!

Enjoy!

Chicken with Artichokes

It had been quite a while since I made chicken. I've been seeing lots of beautiful pan-sear chicken cutlets online lately and decided to try to do something with those.



Chicken with Artichokes
Chicken breasts (or cutlets)
2 cans of artichoke hearts in water
2 TBLS capers
1 clove garlic, minced garlic
1/2 C dry white wine
1 C chicken broth
1/3 C flour
salt & pepper
olive oil

Mix the flour with salt and pepper in a shallow dish or plate and set aside.
Slice the chicken into cutlets and dredge them in flour.
Add some olive oil to a skillet and heat at medium temperature.
When the oil is hot, cook chicken until golden on each side. Don't crowd the pan.
Set cutlets aside.
Deglaze the pan with white wine.
Add minced garlic and cook for a minute or two.
Add chicken broth and cook for a few minutes.
Add chicken cutlets back to pan. Drain artichokes and add them to the pan along with capers.
Cook until artichokes are heated through and chicken is cooked through.
Serve with pasta.

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Mix flour and salt & pepper.






Slice chicken breasts into cutlets.












Dredge chicken cutlets in flour.




Heat olive oil.


And brown cutlets.




We can't waste all of these tasty little bits!


Pour some white wine into the pan and scrape up all of the browned bits.




Now add the minced garlic and cook for a minute.


Add some chicken broth and cook for a couple more minutes.


Add the chicken back to the pan.


Add the drained artichokes and capers.




Cook a few minutes until artichokes are hot and chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy!


This was a wicked quick and easy dinner for a week night... but looks elegant enough for company!