Buffalo Sauce

Buffalo Sauce

Before we left America we tried to get all we could of our favorite "American" things.  We ate at Chipotle a couple times a week, we went to every Happy Hour spot in Denver, we watched every football game that was ever on tv.  But one of the things neither Jim or I got enough of was Buffalo Sauce.  One of the first cravings we had here was for delicious buffalo sauce.  About a month in I knew where to get almost EVERY "American" food item we were missing .  I even found Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce at a garden store and I have to make my own Ranch Dressing.   so it felt just like home.  But I was never able to find Buffalo Sauce.  We have been lucky to have friends smuggle it into the country for us, but as you can imagine every drop of Buffalo Sauce is very precious in this household.  I only put it in recipes once a month, trying to savor every bit.

Well... this week I decided to make our favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip which Erica introduced to us at a Texas tailgate a few years ago.  My friend Julie and I have decided this recipe is definitely a Texas Super Food.  I made this dip with some homemade soft pretzels for a party this week and when we had leftovers I had to make it into another recipe.  As most of you know, I love cooking and I experiment in the kitchen on a daily basis, coming up with new concoctions and twists on recipes.  I take it upon myself to try to make Jim feel like a King by putting all of my love into cooking gourmet feasts for him.  He see's it more as me breaking the bank to have every ingredient in the grocery store.  So, I was excited about testing myself to eat the leftovers without eating the same thing twice.  We aren't a fan of leftovers in this house.

I share with you my creation of the week..... (Red Robin should hire me for their creative team)

Gourmet Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Burgers

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup Buffalo Chicken Dip (recipe below)
• Homemade Lo-Fat Ranch Dressing (recipe below)
• 4 Buns of your choice/ I used bagels (another cost saver Jim!)
• Arugala
• Bleu cheese crumbles
• Extra Buffalo Sauce (optional)

I split my ground beef into 4 thin flat burgers.  I seasoned with a little Famous Daves Steak Seasoning, got that tip from my cousin Brinton and a little Worcestershire sauce. I added 2 tablespoons of the refrigerated Buffalo Chicken Dip to top of each burger (see below)

Add some extra Buffalo Sauce on top if you want, then wrap the meat around the stuffing.  Mine ended up looking somewhat like volcanoes.  I used a George Foreman but I could also use a grill pan since we can't have a grill here.  Grill for 8 minutes then add bleu cheese crumbles on top and grill another 2 minutes.  Toast bagel and add Homemade ranch and Arugula.  Enjoy!

Healthier Buffalo Chicken Dip

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce
• bleu cheese crumbles
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. low fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup Homemade Ranch

Boil the chicken breasts for 15-20 minutes then set aside to let cool, with 2 forks shred chicken.  Add chicken to a skillet on low heat with cream cheese buffalo sauce and cheese.  Stir occasionally, once cheese is melted add ranch dressing and mix well.  Put in serving dish and top with bleu cheese crumbles, you can also add some green onions for color.  Dip can be reheated in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

• 2 tbsp Ranch Dressing packet
• 1/2 cup lowfat or nonfat Greek yogurt

I whip up a little Ranch dressing as needed for every recipe.  I only make small amounts at a time so the dressing doesn't go bad.  Add 1-2 tbsp Ranch Dressing packet to Greek yogurt.  Mix and taste, add more or less seasoning to your taste.  You can also add Siracha to make this a spicy Ranch dip.