ranch

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

September 28, 2016

One of our new favorite weeknight meals is my friend Michelle’s slow-cooker buffalo chicken. It’s easy. It’s actually pretty healthy. And it makes enough food to feed us for days. A couple weeks ago, I made a big batch of the buffalo chicken and had so much left over I had to find something else to do with it other than eat it on a piece of lettuce.

Enter the egg roll wrapper.

We have used egg roll wrappers to transform many of our favorite recipes, from chicken tacos, to teriyaki chicken, lasagna, you name it. Why not stuff some buffalo chicken in there, too?

Well, that was probably the best decision ever! The egg roll wrappers transformed the buffalo chicken into these perfectly portioned appetizers. They were a little bit easier to eat, a lot less messy, and were the perfect size to dip into some Ranch dressing.

I will warn you, the egg roll wrappers do take some getting used to. You have to roll it just right to make sure none of the filling falls out. I like to roll mine on the bias, so that I start with one corner rolling to the opposite. Tucking in the sides is key.

To make these a bit healthier (and because I wouldn’t know how to fry them if I tried), we bake these in the oven. I like to line them up on a cooling rack stacked on top of a cookie sheet. I brush them down with a bit of oil, then pop then in the oven until they are brown and crispy.

Like I said, they would make a great game-day appetizer, but we also love to eat these as our main meal. Three to four egg rolls is just the right amount for me and is perfectly satisfying along with some veggies or a salad. My husband can definitely put back a couple more. I also feel like kids would really like these, too. You could probably sneak some veggies into the egg roll and they would never know the difference.

PIN NOW, MAKE LATER

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:80]

Parmesan Ranch Popcorn

July 6, 2016

I am excited to finally be sharing this Parmesan ranch popcorn. I have been meaning to make this popcorn ever since returning from a girls weekend in Nashville back in April!

On our first night in town, my friend, Michelle, and I stopped in a popular local restaurant off of Broadway. The place was packed and we were forced to eat dinner at the bar. While we were disappointed at first, it turned out that eating at the bar wasn’t quite so bad. Not only did we get to chat up the cute bartender, but we also had access to bottomless bowls of their house popcorn. We went through about three bowls before we (and by we, I mean Michelle) figured out what made the popcorn so addicting – ranch seasoning! We both went home from our trip with a strong desire to make our very own ranch popcorn!

There are lots of different ways to cook up popcorn – stove top, microwave, air popper, etc. For this recipe, I decided to make my very first attempt at cooking popcorn on the stove. I relied heavily on Michelle and this blog post to help me get the hang of it. It’s not as easy and you may think!

After all the popcorn kernels were popped, I took the pot off of the stove and drizzled melted butter over the top, gave it a toss, then generously sprinkled on the ranch seasoning. While the popcorn was still warm, I also tossed in the Parmesan cheese. I used shredded Parmesan which melted slightly around the kernels and sort of bound them together to form little popcorn balls. Grated Parmesan would also work great here since it would melt into all the nooks and crannies of the popcorn.

And not to pat myself on the back too much, but the Parmesan was an excellent touch to this already addicting popcorn. That bag you see there, I ate that entire thing once I finished taking photos, it was that good.

The ranch seasoning is full of lots of different flavors and spices and the Parmesan adds a nice salty touch. If you serve it to friends, I bet you they won’t be able to put their finger on what you used to flavor the popcorn. But they will keep eating it to find out!

I used a seasoning mix from my local spice store that is almost exactly like a Ranch spice packet you would find at the grocery store. Michelle used the Hidden Valley ranch spice mix and she said that her popcorn turned out great, too. Really, any ranch seasoning would be delicious sprinkled on some buttery popcorn. But I think it’s the Parmesan cheese that really puts it over the top.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:51]

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

June 3, 2016

So fun fact about Lindsey: I have almost no tolerance for spicy foods. When the waitress at the local Thai restaurant asks me which level of spice I want I say “negative 5, thanks!”. Unfortunately I have surrounded myself with adventurous fire-eating people, like my husband who likes to add extra Sriracha to his ramen, or to my friend, Michelle, who doesn’t bat an eye at some Franks RedHot.

Michelle has been in town visiting from San Francisco for the past week and one thing we both have an appreciation for is cooking (and eating!). She is probably the biggest fan of the blog, so when she told me about her go to Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps, I knew I had to make them for the blog. What I didn’t consider was that Michelle’s spice tolerance is much more advanced than mine (and that we would accidentally buy the Franks RedHot Cayenne Sauce instead of the Buffalo sauce).

But despite the heat, these were soooo good (Michelle would never steer me wrong). I just had to douse mine with some extra ranch dressing, but since when has ranch dressing been a problem (never, that’s when)? So if you like super hot stuff, stick with the Franks RedHot. If you are like me and are a wuss, then Michelle recommends Buffalo Sauce which she says is so much better.

And for any of you Paleo folks out there, this hot sauce is Paleo and you can make your own Paleo Ranch dressing to make this entire meal 100% Paleo.

Following Michelle’s instructions, I placed some frozen chicken breasts in the slow-cooker, then doused it with the sauce. Next I sprinked on a Ranch dressing mix that I picked up from my local spice shop, but Michelle always uses the Nature Valley Ranch dressing packet, so use whatever one works best for you!

I also added a touch of honey to balance out the heat, but that is totally optional based on your spice preference. Then I set it and forget it! (Side note: does anyone remember those infomercials from back in the day? My dad totally bought one of those rotisserie ovens that Ron Popeil was peddling and we used it all the time!)

With about an hour left in the cooking time, I took two forks to the chicken to shred it. The chicken keeps cooking down and all the flavor soaks in.

At this point you could do just about anything you want with the chicken. Pile it onto a burger bun, spoon it into a taco shell, or – like we did – load it onto some Romaine hearts. As Michelle pointed out, the lettuce helps to cool down the heat from the sauce so it is the perfect pairing. Plus it’s healthy!

Doesn’t that look delicious? The chicken is so tender and flavorful. Of course I was heavy handed with the Ranch dressing for reasons already stated above. But Michelle, Billy, and I all thoroughly enjoyed them. I even had some leftover Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps the next day hoping that my I could improve my spice tolerance overnight. I will surely be making this recipe again (next time with the Buffalo sauce), especially if we are having friends over. It is a great dish to make for a large group and would be perfect for a tailgate or watch party!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:38]