Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Up until a few weeks into my second trimester I had a major aversion to chicken. Just the thought of it icked me out. The first time I noticed the aversion was when I was having lunch with a friend and I ordered a buffalo chicken wrap. I took one bite, looked at my friend, covered my mouth with a napkin and said, “Sorry”. I wound up picking out all of the chicken (and half of the lettuce). Next time we went for lunch I asked them to replace the chicken with beans (yeah, that’s right, I ordered a buffalo bean wrap, and it was delicious!).

I am finally over that crazy aversion and we’re back to having chicken several nights a week. Of course it’s easy for things to get repetitive when you eat chicken for dinner several times a week, so I’m always trying to think up new ways to use it. What better way to spice up chicken than to add buffalo sauce? To mix it up even more I decided to stuff the chicken in pasta shells. The result was fantastic! We absolutely loved this dinner, hope you do too!

 

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells

Ingredients
~20 large pasta shells
1 15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp blue cheese crumbles
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 green onion, finely diced
1/2 oz (1/2 packet) Ranch seasoning packet
1/4 – 1/2 cup Buffalo sauce (You can try making your own or use something like Franks)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 small chicken breast, cooked and chopped/shredded*
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt
Cheddar cheese, blue cheese crumbles, green onion, celery, and additional buffalo sauce for topping

*You can poach the chicken, bake the chicken, pick it off a store bought chicken or use left over shredded chicken. Whatever is easiest for you!

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a casserole dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells just a minute shy of directions on box. (This makes them easier to handle when you’re stuffing them, they will finish cooking in the oven). Once their finished, drain them and rinse with cold water.

While the shells are boiling, combine the ricotta, blue cheese, celery, green onion, ranch seasoning packet, 1/4 cup of Buffalo in a large bowl. Taste the filling and add more Buffalo sauce if you would like it spicier. Once the filling suits your taste, mix in the egg. Add the cooked chopped chicken to the bowl and stir to combine.

Fill the shells with filling and place in the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with additional buffalo sauce and top with cheddar cheese and additional blue cheese crumbles. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 18 minutes. In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the melted butter, Panko, parsley, garlic powder, and salt. After 18 minutes, remove shells from oven and sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the shells. Bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the bread crumbs start to turn golden brown. (If you’re careful and keep an eye on it you can turn the broiler on for a minute or two at the end).

Top with additional green onions and diced celery. Serve hot with extra Buffalo sauce, Ranch, and a salad on the side

Sunny Side Up original

Check out these other tasty Buffalo recipes, too!

Buffalo Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Bites
Homemade Spicy Garlic Buffalo Sauce
Buffalo Chicken Sliders
 

Filed Under: Cheese, Chicken, Dinner, Easy Weeknight Dinner, Main Course, Pasta, Poultry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Crockpot Pork and Sauerkraut

November 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

Sometimes I make and post things with a pretty good feeling that it will be well received (case in point -  Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread). Other times I make and post things that I love, but I pretty much know going into it that it’s not going to blow-up Pinterest. This is one of those things. I LOVE Pork and Sauerkraut with . It’s major comfort food for me. But it’s sauerkraut, so you either love it or hate it.

If you do love sauerkraut, this meal should be right up your alley. Warm and filling with the perfect tang from the sauerkraut. Bonus points for a short ingredient list and easy crockpot recipe. If you don’t love sauerkraut, just check back later this week when I will be sharing another pumpkin recipe that I think you’ll like. :)

 

Crockpot Pork and Sauerkraut with Chicken and Apple Sausage

Ingredients
3-4 lb pork loin (or pork roast cut of your choice)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
4 Chicken and Apple Sausages, cut into thirds
1 32 oz. jar Sauerkraut
1/4-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (depending on how much you like nutmeg)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Season pork with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the olive oil. Add the pork and brown each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.

To the crockpot, add half of the sauerkraut, season with pepper and half of nutmeg. Add the sausages and pork. Top with the rest of the sauerkraut and season with salt*, pepper, and remaining nutmeg.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours. The meat should just about fall apart when you stick a fork in it, if it doesn’t it probably needs to cook for longer.

Serve with mashed potatoes and enjoy!

*Sometimes sauerkraut can be on the salty side, so I’m usually pretty light handed with the salt. You can always add salt later!

Sunny Side Up Original

 

Filed Under: Crockpot, Dinner, Main Course, Pork, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Guest Post: Spinach Manicotti with Tomato Cream Sauce

October 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

Well, I’ve made it safely back to the U.S.! This week I am in Ohio visiting with family/friends and picking up my kitty cats and next week I will be returning to San Diego to get our new home set-up! As I mentioned last week, because this is such a busy time for me,  I’ve asked a few friends to help me out over the next few weeks. Today, I’m happy to have Krissy, from Dainty Chef, as a guest poster. I could spend hours going through her posts and drooling over her delicious photos, just check out this Apple Cheesecake or these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes or these Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Chipotle Salsa. Yum! And this manicotti is definitely going to the top of my “to-make” list when I get in the new kitchen! Thanks, Krissy!

Hello Sunny Side Up Readers, my name is Krissy and I am the blogger behind Dainty Chef. This is a busy time for Jessica so I told her I could help her out with a guest post, and I am so happy to be here. Last October, I was in the same boat as Jessica, my husband and I were settling on a new house, so now I am returning the favor for her. Over on my blog, I try to post a variety of recipes ranging from sweet to savory, of course the sweet ones have a tendency to outweigh the savory :) . Today, I wanted to share with you a quick and easy, but somewhat elegant weeknight meal.

Since I am a teacher, this is still a busy time for me since we are just about a month into a new school year. If things couldn’t get any more hectic, I decided to switch grade levels so that adds a whole new dimension of busy in my life. I moved from fourth grade to second grade and those little guys literally suck out all the energy from me each and every day. The last thing that I feel like doing when coming home from work is cooking a labor intensive meal. That is when I turn to recipes that I know will be delicious, but won’t take much time.  These Spinach Manicotti may look intimidating, but they come together quickly and are easy to make! The reward is a satisfying and healthy dinner for your entire family. We ended up enjoying these for two nights in a row. They were perfect with a glass of wine, salad, and some bread to clean up all that extra sauce! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did and thanks again Jessica for having me!

 

Spinach Manicotti with Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

8 manicotti shells (from an 8-ounce package)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups prepared marinara sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons heavy cream

What you’ll do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain well and arrange in a single layer on an oil rimmed baking sheet while you prepare the filling. In the meantime, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Fold in the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the filling to a large ziplock bag. Squeeze the filling to one corner of the bag and snip off a small opening in the corner. Pipe the spinach filling into both ends of each pasta shell. Arrange the shells in an 8-inch square glass baking dish.I had a hard time fitting my shells in an 8-inch pan so I used my smaller rectangular glass pan from my Pyrex set.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the marinara sauce, oregano, and cream. Pour the sauce evenly over the shells and top with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the Parmesan is browned, about 30 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving to allow filling to set.

Source: Everyday Food, December 2010

 

Filed Under: Dinner, Easy Weeknight Dinner, Italian, Main Course, Pasta, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

September 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As I recently mentioned, I’m a sucker for sauces. I don’t think I could ever chose just one favorite, but I think honey mustard is towards the top of the list. Honey mustard seems to go especially well with chicken and pretzels, so pretzel crusted chicken and honey mustard dipping sauce seemed like a match made in heaven. And it was!

My friend Nikki recently shared the recipe she uses for honey mustard, so I used that as a jumping off point. Side note, I said “recently” then when I went to copy the URL I realized the post was from January. Wow. Time flies!! I wanted a stronger mustard taste so I cut the mayonnaise in half and added a little dijon mustard. The result was a dipping sauce that I easily could have eaten with a spoon.

For the chicken, I used a classic breading method. We loved how crunchy the crust was, and it really seemed to hold in the moisture of the chicken. It was really the perfect vehicle for the honey mustard dipping sauce.

 

Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Pretzel Crusted Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups pretzel sticks or twists
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place pretzels in the bowl of food processor and pulse in 5-10 second increments until the pretzels are crushed, but not so long that they turn to powder. Alternatively, place pretzels in a Ziploc bag and beat with a rolling pin until crushed.

Place whole wheat flour and eggs separate bowls. In a third bowl, stir together the crushed pretzels, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Lightly coat the chicken strips with whole wheat flour, then dip in the egg, then in the pretzel mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken.

Bake for 6-7 minutes then carefully turn over with cooking tongs and bake for another 6-7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Sunny Side Up Original

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
Juice from half a lemon (or 1 Tablespoon)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
Whisk together all ingredients. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

Adapted from Pennies on a Platter, originally from Paula Deen

 

Filed Under: Chicken, Dinner, Main Course, Sauce/Condiment Tagged With: , , , , , ,