Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake!

  

 

If you are like me and love hot wings or anything with buffalo sauce on it, you are going to love this pasta.  It's easy to put together and you could even use some leftover chicken breasts.  It bakes up in no time and it makes enough to feed a good sized family.  Here is what you will need:

3 cups diced chicken breast
1/2 -3/4 cups hot wing sauce, depending on your tastes
1 lb. box of penne pasta (can use rotini or any other type you might have on hand)
1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened
1 can evaporated milk  (12 oz,)
2 cups milk
2 Tbs. butter
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles (optional)
2 Tbs. Ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. celery salt


Cook the pasta in salted water as directed on the package.  Under cook by about 1 minute or 2 to get al dente pasta.  Drain well, but do not rinse.  

Chop the chicken in to bite size pieces and then toss with 1/2 cup buffalo sauce.  Use more buffalo sauce if you like more spice. I used some chicken breasts I had baked the day before. You could also use a rotisserie chicken for convenience.

Place the cream cheese, cubed in the warm pan you cooked the pasta in.  Add the canned milk, the 2 cups milk, the butter and the seasonings, including the ranch dressing mix.  Whisk together over low heat. Stir often because this will stick.  Bring it up to almost a boil, but don't let it boil.  Turn the heat down and whisk in 2 cups of the cheddar cheese. Blend until it melts.  Also stir in 2 Tbs. of additional buffalo sauce.  At the very end add in the bleu cheese if you using it.  The bleu cheese is optional, because so many people do not care for it. Once this all bakes, you don't really taste it that much though. Fold in your pasta and the buffalo chicken and toss until it is all well coated. 

                                                

Pour the mixture into a large baking dish or casserole that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.  A 9"x13" works well for this.  Sprinkle the top with the 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese you have left.   Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes until hot and bubbly and starting to brown.   Garnish the top with sliced green onions or chives.

 



Red Apple Inn Chicken!

 

  

This is not a complicated recipe or even an expensive recipe to prepare, but the results are really sort of decadent and it makes it a dish worthy of company or even for a holiday meal.   It's also a dish you can prepare the night before so that you just need to bake it the next day.  I got this recipe from a friend of mine whose son went to elementary school and played baseball with my son. She is a fabulous cook and always had the best recipes. They are from Arkansas and the Red Apple Inn is in the area they came from.     This has been one of our favorite meals for a long time now.   

Here is what you will need for this:

6-8 boneless chicken breasts

6-8 slices of bacon

1 small jar of dried beef

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1  8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened

2 cups sour cream

black pepper

seasoned salt

paprika for garnish (optional)

Spray a long baking dish with nonstick spray.  Layer the dried beef slices in the bottom.  I rinsed this off with warm water first, because it tends to be very salty.

Wrap each chicken breast in a piece of bacon and lay over the dried beef.  Sprinkle lightly with black pepper.

Mix the softened cream cheese, the soup, and the sour cream until smooth and spread over the chicken.   Sprinkle very lightly with seasoned salt.  Cover tightly with foil and place in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours. 

Uncover and turn the oven up to 375 and just slightly brown the top.  This takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

We like this served over rice, but it's also good over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

It's pretty if you sprinkle it with just a little paprika for color!





Mama's Potato Chip Chicken!

This is a my mother's recipe for oven fried chicken.  It's a little different than the one I have posted before that I use, but it is equally as good and uses items you more than likely have on hand.   You can adjust how many pieces of chicken you bake according to the number of people you are serving, but this will easily coat 6 chicken breasts.  

 I always tend to cook more than needed, because the leftovers are so good and my mother always has cooked by the rule that she would rather have too much than too little.  That was instilled in me, so I always cook like I am cooking for a big family. Mama has always said that even though her family, growing up, didn't have a lot of different things to eat at meals, they always had plenty of what they did have and no one was ever turned away from their table. 

 I am used to feeding men and growing boys, so any amount of chicken is never too much.   When my son was growing up and lived at home, his friends ate with us quite a bit and I always enjoyed feeding all of them.  Wow, could those boys eat!  Even though my grocery bill has probably gotten smaller these days, I would love to have them all back eating with us again.  Those were fun times! 

Here is what you need for this oven fried chicken:

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1 cup Ruffles potatoes chips crumbs  (The Ruffles have more texture)

1 cup corn flake crumbs

1 cup flour

seasoned salt

black pepper

Soak the chicken breasts in salt water for about 30 minutes before preparing it.  This is called  "brining" and it not only adds flavor, but it tenderizes the chicken.    Just dissolve about 2 tsp. of salt in enough water to cover the chicken.

Place the melted butter in a shallow dish and dip each chicken breast in the butter.  

Mix the potato chip crumbs, corn flake crumbs, and flour in a shallow dish and roll the chicken coated in butter in the crumbs.  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.   I like to use Reynold's nonstick foil for this.  If you do not have it, buy some and try it. Nothing sticks to this stuff. 

Sprinkle any leftover crumbs over the tops of each piece.  Sprinkle each piece with seasoned salt and black pepper to taste. 

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.  

***You can cut each breast into about  3 pieces for chicken strips and coat.  Reduce the baking time accordingly. 





Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese!

This delicious "Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese" is basically a one skillet meal.  It's an easy and quick meal to cook when time is short.  It's also a great way to get your kids to eat their broccoli.  Here is what you will need for this:

4 boneless chicken breasts diced in bit sized pieces and seasoned with a sprinkle of salt and pepper
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 can chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cups macaroni, uncooked
1 head fresh broccoli cut in bite sized  pieces, stems removed or 10 oz. frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1/4 cup red or yellow bell pepper, diced small
12 oz. Velveeta cheese, diced in cubes (can substitute shredded cheddar cheese)

Brown the chicken in oil in a large skillet with a lid.  Cook until it's no longer pink.  Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil . Add the seasoned salt, salt and pepper.  Add the uncooked macaroni, broccoli, and bell pepper.  Turn the heat to medium and cover to simmer for 10 minutes.

Uncover and stir well.  The macaroni should be just about done now.  Add the cheese and stir well. Turn the heat to low and allow to cook just until the cheese melts.  Stir a couple of times once the cheese is added because it can stick. 

When the cheese has melted, dinner is done!  Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese!