Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

I do love trying “buffalo” food in all forms.

Buffalo wing wraps, mac and cheese, pizza, nachos, poutine and of course wings right from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY.

So armed with package of chicken breasts in the fridge, I was looking for inspiration. My DD was requesting another dinner where we could have Baked Potatoes with a selection of toppings. I immediately thought of another bar menu item…potato skins. I found an inspiration recipe that contained both.

Of course I tweaked it. 😉

When I think of Buffalo wings, carrot and celery sticks with a creamy blue cheese dip are always included and in my opinion you can’t do anything buffalo without some blue cheese! I added the celery and carrot components, next for the ‘potato skins’ aspect of cheeses, bacon and tomato garnish were added to the finished recipe.

Served with a blue cheese and sour cream sauce it was delicious. And spicy like Buffalo should be!

So if you love all the great flavor of Buffalo wing sauce and potato skins, here is a recipe for Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake that contains both. Hope you will try the recipe and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

Serves 4-6  approx. 45-50 min.
Adapted from Loaded Potato And Buffalo Chicken Casserole Recipe – Food.com
Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

Mise En Place

  • 1 package of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 7 medium potatoes, skin-on, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut on the bias
  • 2 stalks of celery, cleaned and diced
  • ¼ of red onion, chopped
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
  • 1 tbsp. paprika
  • 1 tbsp. garlic powder
  • 4 tbsp. Red Hot sauce, depending on spice tolerance 😉
  • 2 tbsp. agave syrup

Topping

  • 1 cup marble cheese, grated
  • 1 cup mozzarella, grated
  • 1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
  • 5 strips of Ready Cook bacon, cooked and cut into pieces*
  • 1 tomato, concasse**

Sauce

  • 1/3 cup 1% sour cream
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ tsp. sriracha
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 500F.

In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and agave syrup.

Add the potatoes and stir to coat.

Add the potatoes to a greased baking dish.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop the potatoes into the baking dish, leave behind any extra olive oil/hot sauce mix.

Add the diced chicken, red onions and celery to this hot sauce/spice mix and stir to coat all the chicken. Marinate the chicken as the potatoes bake.

Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes at 500F, then stir and add the carrots, cooked for additional 8 min then reduce the oven to 400F. Stir the potatoes and carrots then add to the top, the marinated chicken, onions and celery. Cook for additional 5 minutes.

In a large bowl mix all the topping ingredients together. Add the cheese topping to the chicken and potatoes.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is melted and bubbly delicious. Add the tomato concasse and the Ready Cook Bacon pieces.

Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, drizzle over the Buffalo Chicken Bake and serve on the side.

Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Potato Bake

 

* The recipe could be adapted and the potatoes could be replaced with sweet potatoes. Scrub the outer skin of sweet potatoes, cubed and follow the directions above. Reduce the cooking time for the sweet potatoes.

** The Ready Cook Bacon is a convenience product that I always have in my pantry. I used scissors to quickly cut up the bacon strips.

*** Concasse, from the French concasser, “to crush or grind”, is a cooking term meaning to rough chop any ingredient, usually vegetables. This term is particularly applied to tomatoes, where tomato concasse is a tomato that has been peeled, seeded (seeds and skins removed), and chopped to specified dimensions. I usually skip the peeled part but definitely remove the seeds as then tend to bitter.

 

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Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

This pasta dish was a go to from my childhood. I remember my Mom and my Nanie making this for dinner or snack in a pinch.

I like it because it can be adapted for what you have in your pantry and/or fridge.

Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

Serves 4-6  approx. 15-20 min.
Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

Mise En Place

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
  • 1/2 cup of white wine, I used the Riesling that was left on my counter 😉 *
  • 540 ml can of lentils, drained and rinsed
  • 1-450 g bag of elbow(no.26) pasta, cooked

    Mise En Place for Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

    Mise En Place for Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

  • 2 cups of reserved pasta water
  • 4 tbsp fresh salsa, used Garden Fresh
  • 2 cups of our favourite jar of sauce, PC Marinara is mine **
  • fresh basil, chopped
  • fresh dill, chopped
  • parmesan or romano cheese, grated for garnish
  • salt, pepper,and red pepper flakes to taste

Cook elbow pasta in heavily salted water according to package directions. Before straining pasta, reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid.***

Using a low to medium heat olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add the finely grated garlic until it becomes fragrant. Don’t overcook or burn the garlic will become bitter. Add the white wine and cook until the alcohol has evaporated approx. 1-2 minutes.

Add the can of lentils, salsa and marinara sauce. Simmer until heated through. Add the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce to your desired consistency.

Add the fresh chopped basil and fresh chopped dill. Check the flavour and season appropriately with salt and pepper.

Add the cook pasta to the finished lentil and marinara sauce and tossed.

Garnish with grated parmesan or romano cheese and red pepper flakes, if for some added kick.

Serve with a fresh side salad.

Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

Quick and Easy Elbow Pasta with Lentils

** A homemade pasta sauce is always a better option but in a pinch find a sauce at the supermarket that has only real ingredients. My go to sauce is PC Marinara.

*** Tip: Sometimes is your final sauce for pasta not up to par?  Why add plain old tap water too thin or adjust your sauce when you are going to dump this goodness down the drain?  I always reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy, salty flavourful cooking liquid before straining the pasta.

Hamburgers using My Flavour Enhancers*

Hamburgers are synonymous with BBQ, camping and summer at the trailer for my family. I like to make my own hamburger patties. I can control the ingredients and seasonings that are in my burgers. The flavour enhancers that I made add that extra punch and moisture to the burgers. Think of the package soup mix from the past without the added chemicals or salt. These burgers can be made ahead and frozen for the next BBQ.

We had these hamburgers over the Victoria Day weekend. My DH grilled them over very hot charcoal on a beautiful evening. The hamburgers were moist, and very tasty. 😀

Hamburgers Using My Flavour Enhancers*

Serves 4-6 approx. 7 burgers
Charcoal Hamburgers at the campsite!

Charcoal Hamburgers at the Campsite!

Mise En Place

  • 7.6 oz extra lean ground turkey

    Mise En Place

    Mise En Place

  • 5.6 oz mild Italian ground sausage
  • 1 lb. medium ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1 slice of bread, torn and soaked in milk
  • 5 tbsp. mushroom, flavour enhancer*
  • 4 tbsp. onion, flavour enhancer*
  • ¼ tsp of each salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp. toasted onion spice**
  • 1 pkge. of hamburger buns

 

In large bowl, mix egg with both flavour enhancers and toasted onion spice. Add turkey, Italian sausage and beef.

Squeeze excess milk from the soaked bread and then add the bread into the meat mixture. Discard leftover milk.

Mix just until combined. Form each portion loosely into a 3/4-inch-thick burger (6 oz. patty) and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb.

It is very important to push a ½ inch indent into the center of the patty–this is what prevents the patty from becoming a dome. 😉

(Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container; refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator.)

Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper.

 

 

Heat a gas grill to high or heat coals in a charcoal grill until they glow bright orange and ash over. Brush the burgers with the oil. Grill the burgers until golden brown and slightly charred on the first side, about 3-5 minutes. Close lid and grill. Turning once; flip over the burgers. Cook burgers until golden brown and slightly charred on the second side, 4 minutes for medium rare or until digital thermometer inserted sideways into centre reads 160°F (71°C), approx. 12-14 minutes.

Add cheese, if using, to the tops of the burgers during the last-minute of cooking and top with a basting cover, close the grill cover, or tent the burgers with aluminum foil to melt the cheese.

Charcoal Hamburgers at the Trailer

Charcoal Hamburgers at the Trailer

Sandwich on toasted hamburger buns.

Assemble the burgers and serve with tomato, avocado, lettuce or your choice of toppings!

*Link to Flavour Enhancers for Future Recipes | the 5 o’clock rush

** This toasted onion spice blend contains garlic, dry onion flakes, vegetable bouillon, sea salt and Worcestershire flavourings. I have a huge assortment of spices at my disposal. A spice can instantly change the flavour of a dish from Tex Mex to Persian. I’m always picking up different spices and blends from Homesense or Zehrs. 

 

Pictures From Weekends at the Trailer

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta

While I was searching through my fridge for dinner options, and I came across some almost too sad baby artichokes and leftover cooked spinach. This is when it hit me. Why not make dinner with all of the flavours of spinach and artichoke dip in the form of pasta!

This spinach and artichoke pasta comes together in less than 30 minutes making it a perfect weeknight meal and it’s so addictively good!

FYI I thought this was some groundbreaking pasta dish but apparently others are a sharp as me. 😉 LOL!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta

Serves 4-6
Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta

Continue to the Recipe

Smoky Chicken Enchiladas

Take a trip to Mexico with an added a twist to your family’s typical taco night. These are delicious Smoky Chicken Enchiladas with ingredients that you can easily find in the international section of the supermarket. Serve with fresh sautéed vegetables, sour cream, and guacamole.

Smoky Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 4-6
Smoky Chicken Enchiladas with sauteed veggies

Smoky Chicken Enchiladas with sautéed veggies

Smoky Flavour this way