Buffalo Chicken Rolls

I love spicy food. Not too spicy, but with a nice little kick. Saturday night, I made buffalo chicken rolls and they were to die for! I have to share - your life won't be complete until you make these! They're great for an appetizer or to serve at parties - especially a football party.

 

 Ingredients: Chicken (boiled and shredded), blue cheese, dry broccoli slaw, hot sauce, egg roll wrappers

Having already boiled and shredded the chicken, mix in hot sauce to taste. The chicken soaks this up pretty quick so you might want to sample as you go so as to avoid overdoing it.

 Spoon some chicken onto the corner of an egg roll wrapper, top with slaw (this will soften when you bake it) and spoonful of crumbled blue cheese. Preheat your oven to 400 while you're doing this.

Then we roll. Best method - fold the corner over the chicken and cheese. Then fold in the sides, rolling it over to finish the wrap. Because I'm sure that makes absolute sense to you. 

 Just before they go into the oven (those 3 little ones are something different than the buffalo chicken rolls - I'll share those in another post!).

Bake on 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes then dip in your choice of ranch (my preference) or blue cheese dressing. You'll be wondering where these have been your whole life!

I've been making a real effort to eat healthier lately so I baked these. But I think they'd be fantastic in a deep fryer as well. Whenever I go home for a visit again, I'll be making these bad boys in my stepdad's giant fryer!

Ingredients: 

Chicken, boiled and shredded

Hot sauce 

Dry broccoli slaw 

Blue Cheese
Egg Roll Wrappers 

Recipe: 

Preheat oven to 400 (or heat your oil if you're deep drying)

Having already boiled your chicken, mix in hot sauce to taste. Remember, the chicken will soak up the hot sauce so the chicken can get pretty spicy, pretty quick. 

Put a heap of chicken, a sprinkle of slaw and a spoonful of blue cheese on the corner of an egg roll wrapper. 

Wrap up the wrapper in egg roll form 

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Enjoy with dip of your choice - Ranch is great! 

Let me know if you try this!

Mama's Squash and Corn

When I was a kid, there was a whole lot I wouldn't eat. Most of it was in the vegetable family. Cucumbers were the only exception. Those I have, and always will, eat in abundance. As I got older, I tried things and more often than not, liked them. Tomatoes, however, seem to be the exception to this rule. I can handle a stewed tomato in a sauce or soup, but if a slice so much as touches my food, I won't eat it. I just can't like tomatoes. In my family, this is appalling.

Squash was one of the vegetables I wouldn't touch. I don't remember when I tried it first, but now, it's one of my favorite veggies in just about any form you cook it. My favorite, though, is the way my Mama makes it most often - in a frying pan with corn and onions. I acquired two squashes at work the other day and emailed my mom for cooking instructions. I made my own pan of it this weekend and let me tell you, it was slap your grandma good. Not to mention super easy.

Ingredients: squash, 1 can of corn, 1 onion, butter (I used about half a stick), and the seasonings of your choice. My mom usually just does salt and pepper to keep everyone happy, but I like just a little kick so I sprinkled in some Cajun seasoning. 

 Slice your squash and chop up your onion. Add just enough water to the frying pan to cover the bottom (prevents sticking). Add the squash, onion and corn to the pan, then add butter to taste. I had one huge squash and one small one and it more than filled my frying pan - I had to switch to one I used in college as it was the biggest I have. I only used half an onion but feel free to add more. Butter, I used about half the stick and that was plenty. 

Cook on medium heat, stirring as needed. This is when you sprinkle in your seasonings so it cooks into the mix. I didn't time how long I cooked it, but I'd guess around 20 minutes - until the squash and onions are good and hot. 

So there you have it. A quick, easy summer side dish and about as southern as they come. With squash coming in fresh in your gardens (or if you're like me and don't have a yard for a garden, your local farmer's market), this is a quick, easy, inexpensive meal. It's fairly healthy too - especially if you leave out the butter. Let me know how you like it! 

If you're cooking for one, I recommend an average size squash and one of those small cans of corn. I cooked the two squashes as mentioned, plus a whole can of corn and I will be eating this stuff for at least the next 3 days - way too much for one person. 

Ingredients:

Squash - as many as you feel you need to feed you or your family 

1 can of corn (if you're feeding more than 4-5, I'd add another can)

1 onion - use to taste 

Butter - again to taste 

Spices of choice (I recommend Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper)

Instructions:

Slice squash and onion 

Add just enough water to the frying pan to cover the bottom 

Add squash, onion and corn 

Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until squash and onions are good and hot, stirring as needed and adding spices of choice to taste as you stir.