Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Since we all seem to love the taste of buffalo chicken, here's another take on some spicy goodness. Enjoy!

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded flat
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup sharp cheddar or provolone cheese (or whatever cheese you like)

Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag. Mix together the hot sauce and melted butter and add to the chicken, tossing to coat. Refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove chicken breasts from the hot sauce, and place 1 tablespoon of cheese in the center of each one. Roll up, and secure with a toothpick. Place seam side down in a glass baking dish. Pour hot sauce marinade over the chicken. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is fork tender. Increase the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees, and place the chicken 8 inches from the heat. Garnish with remaining cheese and bake for another 5 minutes, uncovered, until browned.

Remove toothpicks, and serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

I make a lot of macaroni and cheese. But sometimes I get bored with the traditional stuff so this is a great alternative. The tri-color pasta is just for the color since its an Italian dish, but you could use whatever you like.

1 lb. tri-color pasta

1/2 pt. heavy cream

1 cup (4 oz.) freshly grated Parmesan

3/4 cup ricotta

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 cup melted butter

In a large pot bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Cook pasta 2-3 minutes less than package directions. Drain well.

Combine cream, 3 oz. of the Parmesan, ricotta cheese, salt and pepper. Toss with pasta to coat evenly. Place in sprayed 8x8 dish. Combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, remaining 1 oz. of Parmesan and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over pasta.

Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is hot and bubbling and the edges begin to brown. Do not overbake or cheese sauce may begin to separate.

* I've done this with regular bread crumbs too - but the Panko work much better.

Corned Beef & Cabbage Chowder

My sister's recipe. Perfect for your leftovers! Happy St. Patty's Day!!

2 cups corned beef brisket, diced
2 cups leftover cabbage, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cooked & diced
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup milk

Bring all ingredients to a simmer for 30 minutes and serve.

Sloppy Joe's

Ever since Gretchen posted on her blog that Cooper wouldn't eat his Sloppy Joe, I have had a craving. This is on the menu tonight. Here's the recipe I use. It's about as traditional as you can get. It's great with ground turkey, too.

1 lb lean ground beef

1 cup ketchup

3 tsp Worchestire sauce

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp yellow or spicy mustard

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp water - more if you need it to thin the sauce

I make the sauce up ahead of time to let the flavors blend together. When you're ready, brown the ground beef and drain. Pour sauce and let simmer about 30 minutes. Serve on sandwich buns.

No Bakes

Gomez asks me to make these for her all the time! They're sooo good and they're the only cookies I make that don't require the oven!

2 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
(I use Hershey's)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup whole milk
3 cups instant oatmeal
1 tablespoon peanut butter

Over medium heat, bring the first four ingredients to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cook one minute. DO NOT overcook after boil starts.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Add oats. Mix and then drop on wax paper by rounded teaspoon.

Let harden but then place in air-tight container as soon as possible. They should be shiny.

8 Layer Mexican Dip

This was my friend JoAnn's signature dish. She took it everywhere. JoAnn was the daughter of my Aunt Sally (my parents' dear friend) and she died a few years ago after a battle with breast cancer. She was 29 years old.

Layer One - 1 lb. cooked ground beef
Layer Two - 1 can warmed refried beans
Layer Three - 1 jar salsa
Layer Four - 1 bag shredded taco cheese
Layer Five - 1 tub sour cream
Layer Six - shredded lettuce (about 1/2 head)
Layer Seven - 1 jar green olives (chopped)
Layer Eight - 1 small can dice tomatoes

Assemble in a large trifle or a large glass dish. Serve with nacho chips.

Chicken Bacon Wraps

I can't remember where I got this little recipe, but these sure are good! I've made them for a few get-togethers over the years and they always get rave reviews. And you can't get any simpler on the ingredients.

4-5 chicken breasts
1 pound sliced bacon
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray.

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds (I just do the whole package at once). Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden toothpick.

Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture - covering more of the chicken than the bacon. Place on cookie sheet and bake 30-35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Swiss Cheese Fondue

Since we all like The Melting Pot so much, I figured we needed a good fondue recipe on here. I love this and it's very simple to make. I prefer the swiss to the gruyere but you can do whatever you want.

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lb. gruyere or swiss cheese, cubed
1 tablespoon corn starch
dash of grated nutmeg

Rub a large saucepan and a fondue pot with the garlic clove.

Add the white wine to the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir in the lemon juice.

Toss the cheese cubes with the cornstarch, coating the cheese well. Start slowly, adding the cheese to the simmering wine, stirring constantly. Do not let the mixture boil. Add the nutmeg and continue stirring until the texture is smooth.

Pour the mixture into a fondue pot. Serve with cubes of French bread, sliced apples and vegetables (well ... we don't usually use these :).

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake

Next to zuchinni bread, this is Chris' favorite dessert. I make it at least twice a month. Funny thing ... this recipe originally came from Missy. She made it and brought it to the station years ago. I asked for the recipe and have made it dozens of times since but she never makes it. In fact, she had forgotten all about it until I showed her the recipe last week!

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 tablespoon softened butter

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons softened butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Grease an 8x8x2 baking pan and set aside. For streusel topping, in a small bowl combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup brown sugar, the 2 tablespoons peanut butter and the 1 tablespoon softened butter. Stir together until crumbly (may need to use your hands here). Stir in 1/4 chocolate chips and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat the 1/4 peanut butter and the 2 tablespoons softened butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds or until combined.

Add about half of the one cup flour, the 1/2 cup brown sugar, half of the milk, the egg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined, scraping the side of the bowl constantly. Add the remaining flour and milk. Beat on low speed until combined. Stir in 1/4 of the chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake in a 375 oven for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. ** I always cover mine with foil after about 10-15 minutes since this tends to brown fast. **

Cool 15 minutes and cut into squares. Serve warm.

* Don't skimp on the chocolate chips (why would you?!). I actually use more than the recipe calls for.