Buffalo Chicken Sliders

I have to admit something:  A big part of the reason that I like to cook semi-healthy is to support my sugar habit.  If I can whittle calories from savory foods, I won't even hesitate.  But, nearly all of my desserts are full-blown whirlwinds of sugar and fat and all the deliciousness those two nasty ingredients bring to the mixing bowl.  So, of course, when I found a recipe for a healthified version of buffalo wings, I jumped all over it.  


And then I forced our friends to guinea pig it with us over New Years.  Know what?  It's darn good.  Darn good!  It's all the yum of buffalo chicken without the skin and the deep-frying.  Plus, you get to make it in a crock pot, so it's pretty easy to haul to a Super Bowl party and serve up.  And then dig into the cookies and cupcakes.  You have my blessing :)


Enjoy!





Healthier Buffalo Chicken Sliders
adapted from Allrecipes


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 8 oz. buffalo wing sauce
• 1 oz. (or 1 1/2 Tbsp.) dry ranch salad dressing mix
• low-sodium chicken broth
• 
  shredded cabbage
• ranch dressing or bleu cheese dressing

10 small sandwich rolls or small buns, split

• 
  
• Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, with the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Add enough chicken broth to almost cover the chicken.  Cover, and cook on Low for 6 hours (or High for 3 to 4 hours), flipping the chicken breasts over occasionally.
• 
  
• Once the chicken has cooked, shred the meat with two forks.  Cook for another 30 minutes or so, to allow the shredded chicken to soak up juices.  In a separate bowl, toss shredded cabbage with enough dressing to lightly coat.  Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, topping with the cabbage mixture, and additional dressing and hot sauce, if desired.  Makes 10-12 sliders.
  

Ingredient lineup:

Dump the hot sauce, ranch mix, and chicken broth into a crock pot.

 Shred the chicken with a fork and allow to soak up juices for half an hour.

Dig in!

Steak Pizzaiola Burgers

School is starting this week - but it's still great grilling weather - I took this knife and fork burger recipe and make it work for the grill using regular hamburger buns and throwing all ingredients except for the onion mixture inside the burger...Parmesan cheese and all!

Everyone in our family loved the mix of sirloin, pepperoni and provolone!!

Absolute 5 spoon dish!

Steak Pizzaiola Burgers
Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons EVOO
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup dry red wine (I used beef broth)
2 pounds ground sirloin
1/2 cup pepperoni, finely chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 Table Spoons Butter
3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
4 slices of semolina bread, about an inch thick (I used hamburger buns)
1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
8 deli slices provolone cheese

Directions:

Heat 2 Tablespoons of EVOO in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cover the onions with a piece of aluminum foil and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking until fully softened, another 5 to 6 minutes.

Add tomato paste to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until it smells sweet and has caramelized. Add the wine and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits that may be stuck to the bottom. Cook until the wine has almost evaporated, 1 minute. Turn off the heat and reserve.

While the onions cook, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining Tablespoon of EVOO. IN a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the ground sirloin, pepperoni, parsley, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and score the meat into 4 parts using the side of your hand. Form 4 patties thinner in the center than at the edges for even cooking and to prevent the burgers from bulging, Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium doneness.

Preheat the broiler.

While the burgers are cooking, heat the butter and garlic together in a small pot over medium heat. When the butter melts, remove the pot from the heat to infuse the butter with the garlic flavor. While the butter is melting, place the bread on a baking sheet and toast them under the broiler until golden brown on each side. Brush the toast with garlic butter and sprinkle with grated cheese. Place the toasts back on the baking sheet and top each with one of the burgers. Divide the onion mixture among the 4 burgers and top each one with a 2 slices of provolone cheese. Slide the burgers under the broiler to melt the cheese., 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve burgers with a knife and fork, and with your favorite salad on the side.

While it was a bit messy to eat - we loved it!

Red, Wine and Blue Burgers with Baked Jalapeno Poppers

This is one serious burger.

I mean you better be ready for it's awesomeness!! Ready for the heat of the poppers - Hubby thought they were fabulous!

Ready to be totally blown away by the Best Burger you have ever eaten!

I had to make a few changes - fresh spinach for watercress and Parmesan cheese for manchego - in rural OK - I am just not able to find things ingredients.

Only one thing left to be said - 5 spoons - hands down!

Red, Wine and Blue Burgers
Rachael Ray
Just In Time Cookbook

Ingredients:

12 large jalapenos
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces manchego cheese, grated
2 to 3 Tbsp green olives with pimientos, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or cilantro
Salt and Pepper
2 lbs Ground sirloin
3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
2 tsp grill seasoning, such as McCormick;s Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1/2 palmful
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 Tbsp EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), 2 times around the pan
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 tsp hot sauce
4 kaiser rolls, split
2 bunches watercress, trimmed of any thick stems
Fancy potato chips, such as rosemary flavor
6 ribs celery, cut into 3-inch sticks

Preheat oven to 425.

Working lengthwise, slice off the top quarter of each jalapeno and set aside. Use a small spoon or paring knife to scrape the seeds out of each jalapeno, making little canoes.

Finely chop the reserved pepper trimmings and place in a mixing bowl. Add the cream cheese, manchego, olives, parsley, salt and pepper and combine thoroughly. Use a small spoon to fill the canoes or transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag, snip off a corner, and squeeze the mixture into the hulls of your jalapeno canoes. Arrange the poppers on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

While the poppers bake, make the burgers. Combine the ground sirloin, scallions, grill seasoning, Worcestershire, and red wine in a bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Using the side of your hand score the meat into 4 equal portions, then form each portion into a large 1-inch-thick patty. Make and indentation at the center o each patty so that as the burgers cook and plump the tops will remain flat and even.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Once you see ripples in the oil add the patties and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium, or until they reach your desired doneness.

While burgers are cooking, put together the blue dressing. In a mixing bowl combine the buttermilk, blue cheese, hot sauce and a little salt and pepper. Blend until thoroughly combined. Toast split rolls in the oven until lightly golden.

Place a burger on top of each toasted roll bottom. Top the burgers with some watercress and a couple of dollops of the blue cheese sauce. Serve with the poppers, fancy chips and celery sticks.

Hawaiian Beef Sliders

One of our favorite appetizers to order when dining out are sliders - mini hamburgers. So when I found this recipe for Hawaiian Sliders in the June/July issue of Taste of home - I knew that we had to try them!

They were fabulous!

I was a little worried that there was no cheese included - but they are so tasty - you don't need it!

Hawaiian Beef Sliders
June/July Taste of Home
Mary Relyea, Canastota , NY
Ingredients:

1 20oz unsweetened crushed pineapple
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
18 miniature whole wheat buns
Baby spinach leaves
3 center cut bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
Sliced jalapeno peppers, optional

1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice and 1 1/2 cups pineapple (save remaining pineapple for another use). In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup reserved pineapple pepper and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 18 patties; place in 2 11 X 7 dishes.

2. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, ketchup vinegar, garlic pepper flakes and reserved pineapple juice. Pour half of marinade into each dish; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning once.

3. Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting grill. Drain and discard marinade. Grill patties, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees and juices run clear.

4. Grill Buns, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until toasted. Serve burgers on buns with spinach, pineapple, bacon and jalapeno peppers if desired.

Absolute hands down 5 spoons!!

We all loved them - the kids left off the jalapeno's but Hubby and I loved them!

One Mean Turkey Lurkey Burger with Steak Fries

One of the things that my family loves to go out for is BURGERS -- We don't have them very often at home - cause they are never as good...but I had to use up some mushrooms and thought what better to put them on then a big ole burger! This is my version of a healthy burger. I use ground turkey and each person in our family got their 5 veggies of the day out of this one meal! How cool is that?

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground Turkey - this is for my family of 6. You might need less.
Chili Powder
Cumin
Onion powder
Salt and Pepper
Hot Sauce
Mushrooms
Bell pepper
Red Onion
Hamburger Buns

Not Pictured:
Olive Oil
Green Leaf Lettuce
Tomatoes
Mayo

Directions - Wash and cut potato's into wide wedges. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in one layer on a baking sheet in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until tender.

Make sure to toss them at least once to brown both sides.

Cut up bell pepper, mushroom's and onion. Saute them in a skillet until tender - hold off on salting them until mushrooms have turned a rich brown. This is supposed to speed up the process.

I like to keep mine as close to the natural shape as possible. I want my kids to know they are eating veggies - If they taste good and look like veggies they might try them again - just my thought's on the subject.

Add all spices to taste. I like to do a palmful of chili powder, cumin and a sprinkle of onion powder. A pinch of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. Mix thoroughly with you hands and form into patty's.

You can thank Rachael Ray for my exact measurements. :)

Since ground turkey like ground beef is prone to shrink - make sure you patty's are wider rather than higher.

Brown patty's until cooked through (I cut mine open to make sure) in a large skillet.

I picked up some green leaf lettuce and tomatoes to top our burgers.

And Voila - This was one mean looking burger -- so large in fact we could hardly get our mouths around it! Everyone chowed down - just like they do when we go out to eat - but I know this was a much healthier version - with ground turkey, 100 % whole wheat buns, 5 veggies and no cheese.

If you have never given ground turkey a try - you should - it's cheaper, healthier and you really can't taste the difference when it's browned.

We give this recipe 5 Spoons!

Updated 4/9/10 : I am going to link this post to