Tag: cheese

Appetizers, One Tablespoon Testosterone, Recipes

OTT: Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

Sarah

This is a guest post from my husband, Ben. Periodically, he has agreed to share some of his favorite recipes with you in a guest post column entitled One Tablespoon Testosterone, or OTT for short. Enjoy!

———-

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip | thepajamachef.com #appetizers #dips
Close-up view of the roiling seas of buffalo and ranch. The chicken didn’t stand a chance as wave after wave of flavor crashed upon it, permanently embedding itself in the already tasty fowl.

It’s time to celebrate.  To celebrate a rich tradition that is as old as time; perhaps older.  That’s right, it’s football season again.  And to kick off the first big game of the season, you need a recipe that can lead you to victory.  Put away the vegetable tray, it’s time for a real snack:  buffalo ranch chicken dip.

Now I’d like to preface this by stating something that many of you may find borderline offensive.  In my opinion, ranch dressing rates very high on my most overrated food list (Equally offensive:  peanut butter is on there too.  Now this isn’t to say that I dislike peanut butter, I’m just not buying the hype.  I don’t need a spoonful right out of the jar.  I don’t need it every single day of my life.  I don’t want all my sweets to taste strongly of it.  And ranch, I don’t need to dip every savory appetizer or finger food in you.  So many people make these two items out to be the epitome all of that is delicious, and that just rubs me the wrong way.  They taste just fine, but they are significantly overrated.  Also worth noting, the worst offense regarding these two items is the following:  I actually knew someone who ate peanut butter and ranch sandwiches.  Seriously.  It’s exactly how it sounds.  PB & J – the J + ranch.  I shall say no more.).  But this dish opened my taste buds to what ranch used properly can do.  And it is glorious.  Without further ado, the recipe.

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

  • Servings: ~10
  • Print

from Sarah’s friend Kelly

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 16 oz cream cheese (or Neufchatel!!!)
  • 1 c ranch dressing
  • 3/4 c hot sauce (I like Frank’s)
  • 1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:  Poach your chicken breast.  You can cut it up into smaller pieces prior to poaching so it’ll cook faster, or you can just cut it up after it’s cooked (my method).  Heat the cooked chicken and hot sauce on the stove until heated through.  Stir in the cream cheese and ranch dressing.  Mix in half the shredded cheese.  Transfer to a slow cooker (the cream cheese does not need to be fully melted at this point).  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, cover, and cook on low until bubbly.  Serve with tortilla chips and Ohio State football games.  Yields not nearly enough servings (for this hungry football fan, anyway).

The chips, eager to bathe in the incarnate awesomeness, surround the bowl in dipping formation.
The chips, eager to bathe in the incarnate awesomeness, surround the bowl in dipping formation.

What do you think are the most overrated foods?

Main Dishes, Recipes, Sandwiches and Wraps

Southwest Chicken Panini

Sarah
Southwest Chicken Panini | thepajamachef.com
Dinner on our new cute kids’ plates from Target!

Ages ago, I found a recipe for Southwest Chicken Salad Panini. It sounded good, so I filed it away in my recipe box–which is actually a 12″x12″ crate with a bunch of binders and folders… there are so many recipes I want to try. Let’s not even mention my GoogleReader and Firefox bookmarks… Oh. My. Goodness. But what can I say? I learned from my mom! She has a ton of recipes too! 🙂 Anyway, I finally got around to making the sandwiches. It was super easy and made for a good, quick weeknight dinner, perfect for sitting around and watching TV. The panini had a ton of flavor, a little bit of spice, and was very filling. On the side, steamed green beans and rutabaga fries were great too… we just couldn’t get enough!

Southwest Chicken Panini

  • Servings: 2
  • Print

adapted from Kraft

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices whole wheat bread
  • 2 slices cheese [I used havarti]
  • 1 tablespoon mayo or Miracle Whip
  • 1 tablespoon ranch dressing
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 cup cooked chicken, cut into chunks
  • black pepper
  • cooking spray

Directions:

Heat panini grill, George Foreman grill, or a medium sized skillet to medium heat. I used a panini grill, but any of the other options would probably work just as well. In a medium sized bowl, mix chicken, Miracle Whip, and ranch to combine. Then season with paprika and a dash of pepper. Spray one side of each piece of bread with cooking spray, then fill the bread with a slice of cheese and chicken salad. Place on grill/skillet when hot and cook until cheese has melted and bread is toasted. This should take anywhere from 4-8 minutes, depending on your grill/skillet.

Note:

Veggies–especially tomatoes–would be a great addition to this panini! I just didn’t have any when I made it. 😦  The original recipe did call for it though.

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Creamy Baked Spaghetti

Sarah

Tonight my plan for dinner was to make spaghetti. We had spaghetti last week, and I froze the leftover meat sauce, and wanted to use it up. But… on my way home today I decided that didn’t sound good, so I thought I’d get creative… and this is what happened!

Creamy Baked Spaghetti | thepajamachef.com

An oh so delicious carb fest… tomato-y, creamy, cheesy, noodle-ly… filled with veggies and meat… which makes myself and my husband both happy! This recipe isn’t overly tomato heavy – though the tomato still makes its presence known – which is a bit of a refreshing change from many Italian dishes! This is a recipe I’m excited to experiment with, as it there’s a lot of potential to mix up the veggies, sauce, meat, and more. It is definitely a work in progress [and a delectable one at that!] and I will be sure to keep you updated!

Creamy Baked Spaghetti

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 2 2/3 cups meat sauce [I had previous made up one batch of meat sauce using 1 pound browned ground beef + 1 jar marinara sauce, then froze about 1/2-2/3 of the batch… which was about 2 2/3 cups.]
  • 7 ounces angel hair pasta
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup green pepper, diced
  • 1 cup yellow squash, diced
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups skim milk
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
  • 1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese, divided
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh oregano
  • nutmeg
  • ground black pepper
  • cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using cooking spray, grease an 8 cup baking dish [or 3 – 2 cup baking dishes and 1 – 1 1/2 cup baking dish if you want to be like me and make everything possible in individual containers!! :)]. This dish is super quick to make if you get all three pots and pans going at once. After the initial prep work of dicing and measuring, out-of-oven cooking took 15 minutes, tops. Ready?

In a medium size pot, get some water boiling for the pasta. Meanwhile, get the oil sizzling in a small saucepan. Finally, begin melting butter over low heat in a small pot.

When the water is ready, add the noodles, breaking them in half before cooking to shorten their length [especially important if using individual dishes]. Cook until al dente. [My noodles cooked for about 4 minutes so watch ’em closely!] This will be cooking again in the oven, so do not overcook the noodles!

Check the oil in the saucepan by throwing on a little piece of garlic or a green pepper–if it sizzles, you are good to go. Sauté the  garlic, squash, and peppers until almost tender or about 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

When the butter melts, whisk in the flour. Stir until smooth or about 1 1/2-2 minutes. Stir in the milk and sour cream, taking care to stir constantly to avoid lumps. Heat until sauce thickens and can coat the back of a wooden spoon. This should take an additional 5-6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of sauce, or about half of the sauce.

In a large bowl [or a large pot if you had foresight unlike me], mix the cooked noodles, meat sauce, veggies, oregano, and half of the butter/flour/milk/sour cream divine-ness [aka the unreserved cup]. Add 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on a dash of ground pepper and nutmeg [trust me! It’s good!], and mix well. Spoon into baking dish[es], top with remaining shredded cheese, and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Serve and smile! 🙂

Creamy Baked Spaghetti | thepajamachef.com
Look at those sauces swirl!