Pinterest All-Star Crock Pot Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders w/Bleu Cheese Broccoli Slaw

People, today is the official kick-off to football season. And the unofficial kick-off of everything buffalo chicken flavored. And no two things could make a fat Claud happier!

As my loyal blog readers know (Ryan. Dad. I'm looking in your direction), I became obsessed with football last year when I was invited to join a fantasy football league. I became such a rabid fan, I dumped Ryan one Sunday afternoon to go watch (by myself) the Patriots game that was not being televised. Also known as, the infamous afternoon when I was banned from the local pizza place -for what I swear- was no big deal. Just a little friendly banter between rival fans. Ryan on the other hand, has a much different version of that story. But what can I say, Ryan just has a skewed perception of reality. I say tomato, he says toh-ma-toe. 

As for my obsession with anything buffalo chicken flavored, I love it all. And I don't think I'm alone here. It's like all things fried. Who is not a fan of all things fried? Seriously, most anything can be fried and be good. Fried chicken? Good! Fried Cheesecake? Good! Fried Bacon? Damn GOOD!!! I rest my case. All things fried and all things buffalo are good. But, Enough about my obsessions and more about this sandwich.

People, this recipe is a no brainer. Literally. You throw chicken breast, buffalo wing sauce, butter, and an envelope of ranch dressing in the crock pot and 6-7 hours later, voila! You have a delicious meal that feeds a crowd and took almost no effort on your part. And the slaw, can be made in 10 minutes! So easy! The chicken was moist & tender. The sauce had that delicious buffalo flavor you love, but with a little extra something savory from the ranch dressing mix. And the slaw, well, the slaw was REALLY good and added that much needed freshness to the sandwhich. It was crisp and creamy and bleu cheesy -but not over powering bleu cheesy. It was the perfect balance cool and spicy!

I put all of the ingredients in the crock pot last night. Woke up this morning shredded the chicken with two forks -which was totally unnecessary because it fell apart as soon as I touched it. I made the slaw while drinking my morning coffee and then Ryan was on his merry way with "his" contribution to the office tailgate party. And people, it was a hit! Ryan texted me and said we "had to bring this tailgating with us." And for the effort and the awesome taste how could we not. I will more than likely be making this a few times this season. Try it, you won't be sorry. This is perfect for those Thursday night/Monday night games, when you want the game day food, but are too exhausted after work to put forth the effort. 

Now get out there and give it 110%! And God bless "Don't Stop Believing!" Who finished the 2012 season with 11 wins, 2 losses, and the hottest coach in Fantasy Football! Well, the latter is debatable, but the record speaks for itself! You ladies were OWNED!

Pinterest All-Star Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken* Sliders w/Bleu Cheese Broccoli Slaw

Chicken via Emily Bites and Slaw adapted from Supper For a Steal

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1-12 oz bottle Franks Red Hot Original

4 Tbspn Butter (divided)

1 Envelope Hidden Valley Ranch Mix

Bleu Cheese Broccoli Slaw (see recipe below)

Turn Crock-Pot on low. In this order place chicken, sauce, butter, and mix in Crock Pot. Cover and cook for 6-7 hours on low. Uncover and shred chicken with two forks. Taste sauce. If it's too spicy add another 4 Tbspns of butter, this will cut down the spice. *If you feel it will make it too salty, use unsalted butter. Spoon mixture into slider buns and top with Broccoli Slaw.

Bleu Cheese Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients

1 -12oz package of Rainbow Slaw (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, red cabbage) -in the produce section of grocery store

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 Bob's Big Boy Bleu Cheese Dressing

4 oz Bleu Cheese Crumbles

4 green onions (green & white parts) cut on a bias

Mix all ingredients until combined and chill for an hour or until ready to use. Top sliders with cooled slaw.

*The "Pinterest All-Star" refers to the Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken.

Warm Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Garlic Dip

I've had this recipe in my recipe binder for like, no joke, six years and I just tried it for the first time this past year. What took me so long you ask? I don't know. But if I had made this years ago, I'd probably be 20 pounds heavier and in desperate need of a dip-tervention -it's that good! 

I've made this dip four times now, and every time I've made it there has been nothing left. And by "nothing left," I mean the bowl has been wiped clean every time! The first time I made it, the resident Cheese Fatty (Ryan) and I ate the ENTIRE thing in one sitting. True story. That night we didn't eat dinner, and to our shame, we didn't even care. To our further shame, we both wanted more dip. But that was nothing compared to Christmas dinner with the Cheese Fatty Family.

Christmas dinner was fast approaching; meaning it was cutting into our dip eating time. So Aunt Cheese Fatty said (in what I thought was a joke), "I say we put the remaining dip in the mashed potatoes." I laughed and said it would definitely punch them up on notch. Next thing I know Mama Cheese Fatty and Aunt Cheese Fatty are folding the dip into the potatoes! True. Cheese Fatty. Story! I didn't know whether to be stoked or to prepare for a stroke. It was like that one time Paula Deen made a cheeseburger using Krispy Kreme donuts for the buns. You didn't know what to think. Is this woman crazy? Or crazy smart? The jury is still out on Paula, but as far as the potatoes were concerned... I'm not gonna lie, they were pretty freakin' awesome! Props to Aunt Cheese Fatty for not wasting dip and for being resourceful!

Now for the recipe. I do a couple of things differently than the original recipe calls for. I will write the recipe as I make it, but then also include a link to the original recipe at the end. I use roasted garlic instead of fresh because I usually have some in my fridge, but fresh is just as good. I also don't sauté the garlic in the bacon fat, not because I think it's fatty, but rather because it's just one less thing to do. Lastly, I serve it with sourdough bread cubes, but the recipe also suggests pita chips or green apple slices. As we all know I'm a Carbosaurus Rex so naturally I prefer the bread, but next time I think I will also serve it with some Granny Smith apple slices. I think the apples would pair well with the blue cheese, and because you're not loading up on bread you can feel a little less guilty and load up on dip instead :) 

Warm Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Garlic Dip

Via Stop and Smell the Rosemary; Recipes and Traditions to Remember*

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

7 slices bacon cooked bacon, chopped

2 roasted garlic cloves, minced

8 ozs. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup half-and-half

4 ozs. (1 cup) blue cheese, crumbled

2 tbls. chopped green onions

Optional Garnish: 1 additional slice of bacon crumbled, blue cheese crumbles, and chopped green onions.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add half-and-half and mix until combined. Stir in bacon, garlic, blue cheese, and green onions.

2. Transfer to a 2-cup ovenproof serving dish and cover with foil. Bake until thoroughly heated, about 30 minutes. Serve with sliced apples, toasted pita chips or French bread.

Note: The dip may be prepared one day in advance. Refrigerate or freeze. Bring to room temperature before baking. Also this fits perfectly in a 160z corning ware dish (just slightly bigger than a ramekin).

Click here for reprint of Original Recipe

*P.S. I found the recipe on a random website a million years ago and to its credit it cited the original source "Stop and Smell the Rosemary; Recipes and Traditions to Remember" written by the Junior League of Houston. After I tried this recipe I said to myself any cookbook with this recipe in it is worth buying. So, I went on Amazon and bought it! People this book is worth every penny and has earned every award it has gotten. I can't wait to try & share more recipes from it. And if you try this recipe and like it, please buy the book, you won't regret it!

Pinterest All Star - Crescent Roll Bacon Jalapeño Poppers

The Pin

The Pin-test!

 

If you have not seen this Pin you are either blind or dead. This pin has been making the rounds on Pinterest for quite some time now and has recently seen a revival due in large part to Super Bowl Sunday. Or as many of us have come to know it Food-per Bowl Sunday! Good ol' Super Bowl Sunday, that other special time of the year when everything around that holiday centers around food. And let's face it, Super Bowl Sunday is as much a holiday now as St. Patricks Day and Cinco de Mayo. So, because this special holiday is just around the corner, and I know many of you are eager to try some Pinterest recipes, I decided to give this Pinterest All-Star a test run for you.

How should I put this.... Ryan and I were... not big fans. I know how could we not be: cream cheese! Bacon! Jalapeño! I know, stop yelling, let me explain. Okay, first off, I love -no, wait- I LURV crescent rolls and carbs in general, so this should have been a homerun for me. Ryan loves all things bacon, creamcheese, and jalapeño, so this should have been a homerun for him. So where did this go wrong?

For me, the dough was too sweet for the savory filling, it just didn't work. Also, there was not enough filling, which allowed the sweet dough to overpower the flavors in the tiny rolls. Another complaint was that the flavors didn't seem to have blended enough in the baking process. This wouldn't be such a big deal except this is a two-biter app. Meaning that sometimes you'd taste a trace of bacon here... a trace of jalapeño there... but because of the portions you'd almost never get both of the flavors at the same time. 

Anyway, I don't think I would give these a second try, only because I don't think if I increased the filling amount it would decrease the sweet taste of the dough. Should you try these? I say be my guest! If you LOVE crescent rolls, don't like things too spicy, or simply just like bacon, give it ago. They are easy to make, look fantastic, and smell just as great. If you do decide to try to these I recommend increasing the filling amount and maybe chopping up the bacon and jalapeños and mixing them into the cream cheese.

What did Ryan think you ask? Ryan will probably "blog" about his thoughts on his "comment blog" aka the comment section after this post. 

Pinterest All Star - Crescent Roll Bacon Jalapeño Poppers
Via Hello Hue


You will need::
 a can of Pillsbury Crescent doughabout
2 tablespoons of cream cheese (give or take, depending on how much you want to use)
1-2 fresh jalapeños
and about 3 strips of bacon (if you want... I always want bacon.)
These amounts make 16 poppers.


Oven pre-heated to 350 degrees F. 

1. Chop the jalapeños into small pieces. Clean out the seeds. Don't stick your fingers in your eyes or mouth for the rest of the day.
2. Cut the bacon into pieces and then cook it up. I usually cut it up first cuz then you have nice, neat pieces and it doesn't get too crumbly. Just watch it so it doesn't burn. Unless you like burnt bacon. But that's weird.
3. Roll out your dough. It's perforated into triangles, but I cut each triangle in half with a pizza cutter and do one popper on each half. Does that make sense? Sorry I didn't take pictures of that part. You can do it without cutting the crescents in half, and they'll just be a little bigger than bite size (and then the recipe will yield 8 larger poppers).
4. Layer a small dollop of cream cheese, a piece or two of jalapeño, and bacon. 
5. Bring the corners of the dough together and twist them together at the top. Press the edges of the dough together so the insides don't gush out.
6. Bake 10-15 minutes at 350 and munch away!

Pinterest All Star - Ham & Cheese Sliders

Cold ham and cheese sandwiches, borrrrrrrr-riiiiiiiiing. Warm ham and cheese sliders with a delicious onion mustard spread -A REV-A-LATION! First, excuse the picture this was before I placed them in the oven, and then I forgot to take a picture after I took them out. I know, a total FAIL on my part, but any picture is better than no picture. I've made these a couple of times and I really liked them. But seriously, with gooey cheese, tangy mustard, salty butter, and soft sweet onions, what's not to love about these?!?! And the best part is they come together pretty fast once the onion spread is done, which you can make ahead of time so it's ready when you are. My only complaint is they can be a little messy on the hands. Not from the cheese as you might suspect, but from the spread. Since you top the sandwiches with it, it gets all over your hands, which I didn't care for; however, they are worth getting messy over.

There are a couple of versions of this floating around Pinterest, but this is the version I like the best, mostly because it calls for mass assembly, meaning you construct all the sandwiches at once versus assembling each individually, which totally saves time.

A couple of words of advice:

• Don't get overzealous with the cheese. It will take longer to melt and, dare I say, be in jeopardy of being too cheesy. I know, blasphemous. There can never be too much cheese; however, in this situation that just may be the case.
• When cutting be very, very, very gentle, otherwise your little sliders will look like they got run over by a steam roller.

Other than that, these are worth a try. So go forth onto the world and try them!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

via Beyer Beware

Ingredients

1 package of 12 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

1 small onion minced

1 stick of butter

3 Tbspns Dijon mustard

2 tspns Worcestershire sauce

3 tspns poppy seeds (I finally broke down and bought them)

1/2 lb shaved ham

8 slices Swiss cheese (I would just do one even layer and call it a day)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Melt butter in a small skillet and add onions. Combine mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds into onions and butter. Simmer for several minutes.

2. Slice rolls as a group length wise and place bottoms in an aluminum foil lined 13" x 9" pan.

3. Spread 3/4 of onion mixture on roll bottoms, followed by the ham and cheese slices.

4. Top with the roll tops. Spread the remaining onion mixture over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.

5. Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes.

6. Cool slightly, then cut along the bun lines. Serve warm.

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Pinterest All Star - Blooming Onion Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest. If you haven't heard about Pinterest, boy are you missing out. It's basically Google Image search without all the viruses and penis shots. It's not a search engine though, it's a social networking site. Members on Pinterest post and save images, including the links that tell you where to find those images. Sometimes they're links to recipes, clothes, decor, or DIY tutorials, it really varies. But you can always find something that agrees with you. Go and explore for yourself you'll absolutely love it! But enough about Pinterest and more about this cheese marvel.

I found the Blooming Onion Bread on Pinterest one day, sitting among pictures of cute pugs and trendy wardrobe options. It was one of those images that kept getting "pinned" so I did a quick glance at the ingredients and, at the risk of sounding like Ina Garten, thought bread, cheese, and butter, how bad can that be? So I decided to try it. And it was bad. Really bad. But not the bad you're thinking. It was bad like that bad boy your mother warned you about. That kind of bad. The good kind of bad. And like that bad boy no one can resist, no one can resist her Cheesemagesty. That's what I've dubbed this creation, by the way. Why her Cheesemagesty you ask? Well, when you pull her out of the oven and gaze upon her melted cheese glory you will know why all mortals bow before her Cheesemagesty. Seriously! I have made this several times and no one can resist her, nor stop singing her praises. She is that awesome!

The best part of this recipe is its versatile. You can use any type of bread and cheese that strikes your fancy. The more creative you get the better the results. Our favorite combination is La Brea Bakery Rosemary Bread with Pepper jack Cheese, yum! The only thing I do different from the original recipe is to add a clove of mince garlic and omit the poppy seeds. I have nothing against poppy seeds, but I wasn't about to purchase them if they weren't an integral part of the recipe. You can call me cheap if you'd like, but I prefer to view it as calculated budgeting decision. The recipe below is written as I make it, follow the link below to see the original recipe. And without further ado I give you her Cheesemagesty!

Bloomin' Onion Bread aka Her Cheesemagesty

Courtesy of: The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 small La Brea Bakery Rosemary round or sourdough round

12-16 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup finely diced green onion

1 large garlic clove minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread lengthwise and widthwise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving (this is very true).

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Combine butter, onion, and garlic. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

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Wild Mushroom Canapes with Brie

Oh my gosh, you have no idea how much I wish I had a better picture of this because this picture doesn't do it any justice in the least bit! This was one of the biggest hits of the night. The combination of the different mushrooms sauteed in Morton's Garlic Butter was, in short, heavenly! This was extremely easy to throw together if you have te butter made ahead of time if you don't then yeah it won't be easy. But that was one of the things I loved about this, the simplicity with big rewards. Try this you won't be sorry!

Wild Mushroom Canapes with Brie
Courtesy Morton's Steak Bible
Makes 20 canapes

1 French baguette, about 14 inches long and 3 inches wide
4 oz portobello mushrooms (about 2 medium mushroom caps)
3 ounces shiitake mushrooms (about 6 mushrooms)
4 ounces cremini mushrooms (about 10 mushrooms)
6 tablespoons Garlic Butter
4 ounces unpeeled Brie cheese, frozen

1. Preheat oven to 450*F.
2. Trim the ends off the baguettes and save for another use, such as bread crumbs. Cut the baguettes on an angle into twenty 1/4 inch slices. Toast the bread in the oven in a single layer on a baking sheet for 4 to 5 minutes, until light golden brown.
3. Twist the stems off the portobello and shiitake mushrooms and discard. Trim the stems from the cremini and discard. Using a small paring knife, scrape the underside of the portobellos clean off the dark gills.
4. Slice all the mushrooms into 1/4 inch wide strips, and then chop them into 1/2 to 1 inch long pieces. You will have about 4 cups roughly chopped pieces.
5. In a large saute pan, melt the Garlic Butter over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened. The mushrooms will cook down about 1 1/3 cups.
6. Lay the bread out on the baking sheet. Top each slice of toast with 1 tablespoon of the mushroom mixture.
7. Using the cheese grater, coarsely grate the frozen Brie so that you have about 1 cup. Sprinkle the grated Brie over the mushroom mixture and bake for about 5 minutes, or until the Brie melts. Serve immediately.

Note: The Brie really needs to be frozen, you can grate the cheese ahead of time to save time later. But make sure when you grate it, it's frozen and then return it to the freezer. You will see when you grate it that it softens rather quickly just from your very own body heat coming off of your hands. You can also slice and toast the baguette slices ahead of time that way when your guest arrive you just saute the mushrooms, top your baguettes, pop in the oven and enjoy!

Crostini with Blue Cheese Butter Spread and Sliced Pears

Ryan and I both really liked this. The butter spread has a great blue chese flavor but what I really liked about it is that you not only taste the blue cheese you taste the nuts and the lemon as well, individually. I like when you can taste everything individually yet haromoniously and nothing gets lost. And the addition of the thinly sliced pears, by yours truly, really makes for a nice contrast. The key however, is to slice the pears thinly.

But the best part of this recipe is the butter can be made the night before and this appetizer can be thrown together in no time. You can also freeze the butter for later use then it's ready to go for unexpected guest or if you are in the mood for a "fancy", fast snack.

Crostini with Blue Cheese Butter Spread and Sliced Pears
Courtesy of Emeril Live

4 ounces blue cheese, softened (about 1 cup)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped lightly toasted pecans
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (For some reason I misread this and did 1 tspn of lemon zest, still good)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt Ground black pepper (I didn't add any salt but I did add pepper)
1 loaf French bread, cut into thin rounds, accompaniment
1 Ripe pear thinly sliced.

In a bowl, cream together all the ingredients, except for bread and pears. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place mixture on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Form into a fat cylinder and roll up in the plastic wrap, pushing and tucking in as you go to form a tight log. Refrigerate or freeze until needed.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread blue cheese butter evenly onto the French bread rounds. Then top each round with 1 or 2 slices of the thinly sliced pears, depending on how big your rounds are. Place on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy!