Sunday, July 28, 2013

Buffalo Chicken Cups







This is a recipe I saw online when a Facebook friend shared it. It comes from Jessie’s Pampered Chef Page, and it looked so delicious. I never got into the taste of buffalo chicken until several years ago when one of my sisters brought Buffalo Chicken Dip to the family Christmas party. I think one reason I hadn’t liked it before was that, until then, I had seen Buffalo Chicken anything served only with blue cheese, which I have never liked. But when my sister made this dip, it was made with sharp cheddar cheese, and I tried it and have been hooked ever since!

Thus, I did change out the blue cheese in this recipe for my much preferred extra sharp cheddar. I also replaced the wonton wrappers with the store brand of “Grands” flaky biscuits. I felt the wonton wrappers would be too crispy, and the flaky biscuits lent a delightful slightly sweet taste to the heat of the hot sauce and the tang of the cheedar. I think you’ll like how these taste too!





So, set the chicken breasts to cooking in a sauté pan with a little olive oil.






While the chicken is sautéing, melt the cream cheese with the Ranch dressing in a saucepan, stirring to mix in. Grate the cheddar cheese also during this time.




When the chicken is fully cooked, place in a bowl and pull apart with two forks to shred. Add the hot sauce and thoroughly coat. I have found the store brand to be just as fine as Frank’s hot sauce, and it’s less expensive.




Now for the biscuits. Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray first. Take the “grands” biscuits, and cut each one in half. Press each half flat and round it out as you go.





Press each flattened half biscuit into the sprayed muffin tins, pressing up the sides. You’ll end up with leftover biscuits, as this recipe made 24. Just pop them on a cookie sheet and bake afterwards for the kids to eat.





Next, spoon about a tablespoon of the hot sauce coated chicken breast into the biscuits in the tins.





Add approximately 1 ½ tablespoons of the cream cheese -Ranch dressing mixture on top of the shredded chicken. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top lastly, dividing it up between all 24.




Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10-15 minutes, until biscuit dough is lightly browned. Enjoy! ~TMMF

                                              Buffalo Chicken Cups

                                             2 cans large flaky biscuits
                                                   (or 3 cans small)
                                             1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
                                             1 c. Ranch dressing
                                             2 small chicken breasts
                                             ½ c. Frank’s Red Hot sauce
                                             1-1 ½ c. sharp cheddar cheese



Thursday, July 11, 2013

Rosemary Potatoes








Rosemary Potatoes are another childhood favorite of mine that my mom often made at home. I’m not sure if other children would have turned up their noses at this fragrant side dish, but my siblings and I loved it. I hope your family will too!




Scrub the potatoes well if you’re leaving the peels on them. You can peel them if you’d like; I can’t, therefore I leave them on for extra nutrition and fiber, as well as saving time. Slice them into wedges (cut in half, then each half into sixths or so) and rinse well to remove the excess starch.




Melt the butter in a small bowl using the microwave. Add the oil to it and mix.





Place the drained potato wedges in a large bowl. Drizzle the butter/oil mixture on the wedges and mix well to coat. It may solidify, but that’s okay. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Add the rosemary leaves, rubbing through your hands before releasing them into the bowl, and mix.




Spread on a sheet pan evenly and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 30-45 minutes, until toasty browned. You can turn them in between if you’d like, but I never do and they come out just fine. These go very well with a chicken meal, and they’re so easy. Enjoy! ~TMMF





Rosemary Potatoes

4-5 large potatoes, any kind
2 Tbl butter
1 Tbl oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1-2 Tbl dried whole rosemary