I saw this recipe and immediately thought of my sis - I texted asking her if she wanted to try 'buffalo chicken casserole', it's a pasta dish with chicken and sauce...before I finished telling her what it is she wrote 'you had me at buffalo' hahahha. Because it makes a 13x9 pan I decided to split it in half and Dave and I would also have it for dinner - a bold choice for me because I do not like spicy or hot but was hoping the cheesy sauce would cool it down. This is fantastic! I thought because I liked it so much it might not be 'buffalo-y' enough for her - here's what she has to say about it:
We have a group of friends who regularly get together. One of those ladies brings Buffalo Dip every time. If she ever tries to not bring it we whine and pout until she changes her mind and brings it.
The husband doesn’t love it the way I do just to be clear. Anyway.. the point of my tribute to my friends delicious buffalo dip is that this pasta dish reminded me of that. No, I didn’t dip chips in it, yes I ate it sitting down scooped onto a plate (not standing around a crock pot like a vulture).
THIS. WAS . DELICIOUS. Even the husband liked it. I think what he liked about it is that it wasn’t a strong buffalo flavor. It was a “hint” of buffalo. The perfect amount of buffalo.
The husband loved the way it looked (like mac n cheese), there was some blue cheese sprinkled on top which also appealed to me (yum). My sister does something great with her chicken (its like shredded) which gave it amazing texture. I love pasta in general but the hint of buffalo sauce, blue cheese, and her great chicken was amazing. One other comment the husband made was about what appeared to be tiny pieces of carrot (guessing). We were trying to figure out what those were- he proclaimed it good be rat poisoning but it was so delicious he would eat it anyway). HAHA
He gave this one a 9 ½. WOW! I think that’s his highest rating yet. Hopefully it wasn’t rat poisoning…
BUFFALO CHICKEN CASSEROLE
6 servings
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Prepare pasta in a large stockpot according to package directions for al dente. Drain pasta; return to stockpot, and set aside.
2. While pasta cooks, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium. Add flour; cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Gradually add half-and-half, whisking constantly; cook, whisking often, until mixture is thickened and coats back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low; gradually add 2 cups of the Cheddar 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until melted and smooth after each addition. Remove from heat; whisk in hot sauce, sour cream, Worcestershire, and salt. Pour sauce over drained pasta in stockpot; add chicken, carrots, and celery, and toss gently to evenly combine. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish.
3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over low. Stir together melted butter and panko in a small bowl. Sprinkle casserole evenly with remaining 1 cup Cheddar and panko mixture. Bake in preheated oven until casserole is golden brown and bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with blue cheese, and garnish with celery leaves. Serve hot.
my notes: I pretty much followed this recipe as written other than I used a triple cheddar blend and didn't garnish with celery leaves. I chopped the celery and carrots very small and added them to the pasta before draining so they'd have a minute in the hot water - it seems to me like they might have been too crunchy if not par-cooked for a minute. For the chicken: put boneless skinless breasts in a stockpot, cover with water. Add a spoonful of chicken bouillon, sprinkle in some poultry seasoning and whole peppercorns. Bring to a boil, turn down and cook until the chicken is done, drain. Let it cool and then shred.
recipe found here
11.10.21: spinach salad
