Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

I saw this recipe today on food gawker and my mouth was watering. I've been obsessed with buffalo lately, I love the flavor! These grilled cheese are super easy to make, I kinda made it up as I went along so there aren't exact measurements.

Ingredients:

2 cans of chicken (this saves a ton of time, but feel free to use shredded chicken)

buffalo wing sauce

cheese

red onion

bread

butter

Heat a flat pan on medium heat.

Meanwhile, drain chicken and combine with buffalo sauce in a bowl. I added enough buffalo sauce to make it look like tuna with mayo, make sense? Grate cheese and add it to the meat & sauce mixture, you want a good amount since this is a grilled cheese after-all. Chop up a little red onion and mix it in too.

Take two pieces of bread and butter one side of one slice. Put a good amount of the meat mixture on the bread (with butter on the outside). Take your other piece of bread and butter one side then place it on top of the sandwich.

Grill on flat pan til both sides are golden brown. Cut in half and enjoy!

a tasty little sammy :)

This is what I have for lunch nearly every single day and I love it.

I use a thin-wich as my bread, it has the same amount of calories as one slice of bread which is pretty great. Plus the white ones taste similar to a pitas, which I love. They also have a multi-grain, whole wheat & Italian herb version, it depends on my mood what kind I get :)

on one half a spread a little mayo (like 1 tsp, though I'm considering omitting this completely)

 

Next I put a couple slices of deli-sliced rotisserie chicken. I grew up eating fresh sliced meat from the deli so now I prefer it over packaged meats.

 

Top the meat with some cheese if you'd like, either way it's yummy.

 

On the other half I spread avocado, however much you want. 

 

Top that with some chopped cucumbers.

 

Put the tops together and enjoy!

 

Trust me, it's a tasty little sandwich.

I usually have an apple and some pretzels on the side or some fresh veggies with ranch.

Wraps!

Hey all, Kari here. Natalie invited me to start sharing some recipes here on her blog. And well, I'm honored because if you've ever eaten at Natalie's casa, you know she's a super amazing in the kitchen and will tackle just about anything and come out with shining colors.

So for my first post on here I thought I'd share a recipe that is a staple in our humble abode, I kinda developed this when Robert and I were just dating (and I'd impress him with my culinary skills trying to get a ring on my finger). It was inspired by the Sicilian pizza he loves to get from CPK. If you've never gotten it...go.now.

In our house we just call them wraps, or deliciousness wrapped in a tortilla, if you will.

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients:
- 2 Tortillas (right now we are flat-out addicted to these tortillas from Costco)

- Grated/Shredded Cheese of your choice (we love sharp cheddar)

- Lettuce (Romaine, Green Leaf is what I'd recommend)

- Caesar dressing (I prefer the creamy fatty stuff)

- 1/3 8 oz. package of Pepperoni

- 4-6 Ham, Turkey or Chicken thin cut slices (like lunch meat size)

- Any veggies you'd like to add to give it some extra nutrients I've been known to add: Hothouse Cucumbers, Tomatoes, grated carrots, scallions, corn, peas, cabbage and jicama.

Start cooking your tortillas, that is if you bought the doughy ones, on a griddle.

Shred lettuce and toss with Caesar dressing in a bowl, include any additional veggies you'd like, set aside.

Meanwhile, slice pepperoni and meat slices into thin short strips, toss these strips into a small frying pan on medium heat. Saute slices in their natural juices, or you can add Pam to the pan for extra protection, until Pepperoni is almost crisp and the meat slices turn a nice golden version of their original selves.

Once your tortillas are cooked turn on your oven broiler to high. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and sprinkle with grated/shredded cheese of your choice. Place the tortillas in the broiler for 1-2 minutes just until cheese is melted.

Top cheesey tortillas with tossed lettuce mixture and top that with your sauteed pepperoni and meat slices.

Here's the final product (excuse the cruddy photos, I am not blessed with Natalie's photog skills)

It's quick, it's delicious and it's one of my husband's favorites. Not to mention a great way to get veggies in him...yes, I married a 5 year old when it comes to veggies. Love you Roberto!

Cilantro chicken quesadillas

I love Guru's but it's a bit expensive. One night Christiana and I decided to recreate their Cilantro Lime Quesadilla so we could enjoy it at home. It was a success! You can mix and match the ingredients but I think the chili powder on the outside of the tortilla really makes it. Here's how to assemble:

Ingredients for 2 large quesadillas (serves 4-ish)

1 bunch cilantro
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 limes
flour tortillas (we prefer the uncooked ones)
1 chicken breast, cooked zn the oven and shredded
2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella and white or yellow cheddar (you can shred as much as you like and combine)
canned corn
black beans

To make the paste that you'll spread on the tortilla, combine cilantro (just the leaves), zest and juice of both limes and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender and blend until it's a paste. I also add a little salt and pepper to this mixture.

Spread the paste on two tortillas. Cover one of the tortillas in chicken, cheese, corn and black beans. Put the two tortillas together and top one side with a little chili powder. Spray your pan and heat. Cook each side of the quesadilla for a few minutes, or until very brown and the cheese is melted. I like to cut mine with my pizza cutter. I served it with the salsa (see below) and sour cream.



We served the quesadillas with Cafe Rio's cilantro lime rice:

1 1/2 cups rice (I like jasmine)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 bullion cubes
3 cups of water


Melt butter in a pot and add onion, celery and rice and the 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro, zest in the lime zest and add the juice of both limes as well. Add the water and bullion cubes. Bring to a boil and cover. Lower heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes.




I also made Kelsey Nixon's guacamole-tomatillo salsa. It was really good with the quesadillas and with chips.

Tomato Soup

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 carrots peeled and diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 pounds tomatoes on the vine- peeled
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
3 cups chicken broth or stock
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

I boiled my tomatoes in hot water for about 1-2 minutes, then took them out of the boiling water to cool. I peeled all of them so that the skins don't get into the soup. Then I chopped them up.

Saute carrots, onion, salt and pepper in the olive oil for about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes. Add sugar, tomato paste, basil and stock. Simmer on low for 40 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be very tender. Ideally you'd want to use a hand blender at this point to blend up the soup. I don't have one so I just ladled small portions into my regular blender and blitzed it up. You have to be careful with blending hot things because the heat and pressure can blow the top off of the blender (so I held a kitchen towel over the top of the whole blender while blending. You can also use a food processor. Once it's blended as thin as you like it, reheat it and eat!

I served the soup with a drizzle of cream on top, because the soup is already so rich.

english muffin pizzas

like i said before, we have pizza usually once a week. i try to mix it up between pepperoni, pesto or asian. when we're really busy or i do not feel like waiting for my breadmaker to mix up some dough, we make pizzas on english muffins or bagels. you can add whatever toppings you like and even us whole wheat bagels or english muffins as the base. they are so good! and i can imagine kids liking the individual portions and even helping assemble the toppings.

english muffins or bagels
pizza sauce (i like the jarred kind)
mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
i also like to add pineapple to mine
a sprinkle of salt and pepper, or garlic salt

i toast the base before putting the toppings on, to ensure that it is crispy and not soggy. bake at 400 until the cheese is bubbly and the bottom seems crisp. keep an eye on them, they're done fast. never gets old :)