Free Recipe Wednesday #2 (Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich)

Here is today's second Free Recipe Wednesday post and as promised it's another adult twist on the grilled cheese sandwich. I've had buffalo chicken strips, buffalo chicken wings, and even buffalo chicken dip (which is amazing by the way) but I can't say I've ever had a Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This sandwich has everything you might normally get when you order something like buffalo chicken wings at your local wing restaurant. It's got the hot buffalo chicken part of course but also uses blue cheese, celery, and other veggies you might normally get on the side with your buffalo chicken wings. I have high hopes for this sandwich and I'm sure it'll be amazing. Give it a try and post your comments below letting me know what you think about it.

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich

• 1/4 cup Cooked Shredded Chicken, warm
• 1 tablespoon Hot Sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Mayo (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Carrot, grated
• 1 tablespoon Celery, sliced
• 1 tablespoon Green or Red Onion, sliced or diced
• 1 tablespoon Crumbled Blue Cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, room temperature
• 2 Slices Bread
• 1 tablespoon Butter, room temperature

1. Combine the chicken, hot sauce, mayo, carrot, celery and onion in a small bowl; mix well.
2. Butter the outside of each slice of bread, sprinkle half of the cheeses on the inside of one slice of bread, top with the buffalo chicken salad, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
4. Add the sandwich and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Free Recipe Wednesday #1 (Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich)

Welcome everyone to a new edition of Free Recipe Wednesday. As some of you may have noticed, I didn't post a recipe last Wednesday. I apologize for that and to make up for it I'm going to post 2 free recipes today. Both recipes today are an adult twist on the classic grilled cheese sandwich that most, if not all of us grew up eating. When I saw this first sandwich, the Jalapeno Popper Grill Cheese Sandwich, I got real happy! I'm a huge fan of grilled cheese sandwiches anyway and jalapeno poppers are one of my most favorite deep fried foods so obviously this combination sounded amazing to me. Just look at that picture and try to tell me that doesn't look delicious. I have yet to try it but when I do I'll be sure to post back with my review. Hopefully you all will enjoy this one as well. Please feel free to post comments, opinions, etc below.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

• 2 Jalapeno Peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 2 slices Sourdough Bread
• 1 tablespoon Butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Jack and Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon Tortilla Chips, crumbled

1. Place the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
2. Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blackened, about 8-14 minutes.
3. Place the peppers in a zip-lock bag or other sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
Remove the skins from the peppers. The skins should easily come off.
4. Lightly butter the outside of each slice of bread and spread the cream cheese on the inside. Sprinkle half of the cheese on the cream cheese of one slice of bread, top with the jalapenos, crumbled tortilla chips, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
5. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
6. Add the sandwich and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Free Recipe Wednesday! (White Chicken Chili)

Hello again food lovers! It's hump day! That also means it's time for another round of (insert dramatic game show host voice here) Free Recipe Wednesday! Today's recipe I found on Facebook somewhere and it appears to be a variation of the recipe found on the Land O Lakes website. The only difference that I can see is this recipe adds green chilies and adds sour cream as a garnish. On a side note, it's interesting the amount of a recipes that you can find on websites of companies that make food products. A co-worker of mine makes a version of this chili that's almost identical to this but she adds 1 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream at the very end to make it super creamy and awesome. She also uses Great Northern Beans instead of Cannellini Beans but really you can use whatever beans you want as long as they're a white bean. Anyway, I hope you give this recipe a try. I know it's not chili weather but it just looked so good that I had to share and I promise you won't be disappointed. As always, feel free to leave comments below.

White Chicken Chili

• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1 can (4 ounces) Chopped Green Chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 1 medium Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Finely Chopped Fresh Garlic
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 3 (15-ounce) cans Cannellini Beans, drained
• 1 (11-ounce) can Whole Kernel Corn with Red and Green Peppers
• 1 cup White Cheddar Cheese, grated

Garnish:

• 3 tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• Sour Cream
• 1 Lime, cut into wedges

1. Heat oil in a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat. 

2. Add chicken, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, canned chilies, salt and pepper.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink; remove from pan and set aside.

4. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic to pan; cook over medium heat 3-4 minutes or until softened. 

5. Return the chicken to the pan.

6. Stir in chicken broth, beans and corn; cook until mixture comes to a boil. 

7. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. 

8. Add cheese; stir until melted.

9. Garnish each serving with cilantro, sour cream, and lime wedge.

Free Recipe Wednesday! (Lemon Pasta Salad with Tomato and Feta Cheese)

Hello once again everyone and welcome to this week's Free Recipe Wednesday.  I hope everyone had a safe 4th of July holiday.  I'm sure there was plenty of delicious food out there, I know we had lots of good stuff.  Today's recipe was actually a 4th of July dish that I found on one of the many blogs that I read.  This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe on Epicurious.  Just click the link if you want to see the original recipe.  The reviews were mostly good on the original recipe but not great so I figured I would just use someone's adaptation.  It's definitely something my wife and I are going to try, albeit with gluten-free pasta instead.  If you are new to gluten-free cooking or just decide you want to try it with a healthier gluten-free pasta (you can get brown rice or quinoa pasta) keep in mind that the texture of the pasta becomes more firm when you refrigerate it.  If you're not a fan of pasta with a "bite" to it then you might want to avoid making this too far in advance as well as having leftovers.  Please enjoy this recipe and as always post comments below if you have opinions, ideas, etc.

Lemon Pasta Salad With Tomato and Feta Cheese

• 7 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons Grated Lemon Peel
• 1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 Garlic Clove, minced
• 3 Tablespoons Whole Grain Mustard
• 12 oz Pasta
• 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup Fresh Basil, chopped
• 1 Yellow Pepper, diced
• 1 cup Crumbled Feta
• 1 cup Green Onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup Black Olives (or Kalamata), halved
• 3 Tablespoons Capers
• Sea Salt and Pepper

1. Whisk together olive oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, garlic, and mustard; add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cook pasta of choice in boiling salted water until tender but firm; drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Transfer pasta to a large bowl; add tomatoes, basil, yellow pepper, feta, green onion, olives and capers.
4. Pour dressing on top and mix well.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Free Recipe Wednesday! (Creamy Ranch Chicken Enchiladas)

Hello again food friends.  Welcome to this week's Free Recipe Wednesday.  As usual, this recipe comes from one of the many sites I visit.  I just bookmark what looks good and then share them with you.  Of course ideally I would like to try these recipes before I post them but that doesn't always seem to be possible.  On that note,  it's that time of year again to bring out the smoker so hopefully I'll have some pictures (ribs, brisket, pulled pork), rub recipes, techniques, things like that to post in the near future. Until then I'll keep posting delicious looking recipes like the one we have this week.  I'm not a huge fan of red enchilada sauce so this recipe intrigued me with the sour cream and ranch dressing.  It sounds amazing and I can't wait to try it.  Enjoy and let me know what you think if you try them yourself.

Have a Safe 4th of July!

Creamy Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 8 oz Reduced Fat Sour Cream
• 8 oz Ranch Salad Dressing
• 4-6 Large Flour Tortillas
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Green Chilies
• 1 Roma Tomato, diced
• 1-2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
• Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; spray a 9"x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cut the chicken into bite size chunks or strips; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Cook the chicken in a saute pan for about 5-8 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink the in middle; set aside to cool.
4. While the chicken is cooking, mix the sour cream and Ranch dressing together; pour half of the sauce mixture into a small bowl and add the chopped green chilies.
5. Add the chicken to the the other bowl of sour cream and ranch mixture; stir to combine.
6. Take one tortilla and place some of the chicken mixture into the center of it. Roll up the tortilla and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat until all the chicken mixture is gone.
7. Pour the remaining sauce mixture over all the tortillas. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and tomatoes.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes; allow to cool a few minutes before serving.