Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

So in my last post, I let you guys know how to make pulled buffalo chicken. You can use it in several different contexts: on salads, in sliders, and, our personal favorite, in quesadillas. They are quick and delicious for dinner, or for heavy apps for a tailgate party.

What you will need (sorry, no picture was taken)

a bowl full of the buffalo pulled chicken, slightly warm

1/2 bag of mexican blend shredded cheese (finer shreedded, the better)

flour tortillas (any size you prefer, but make sure it'll fit flat in the bottom of one your non-stick skillets)

First, put a non-stick skillet on the stove and put the heat on medium or so. Place a flour tortilla in the skillet, then sprinkle with cheese.

Wait approximately three minutes, until the cheese starts to melt a little bit. Then slurp on some buffalo chicken, but only put it on one half of the tortilla. Once you put it on one half of the tortilla, you will use a flat spatula to fold the other half over, sort of like an omelette:

Press down on the top of the quesadilla to get the cheese to "fuse," then flip over to make the other side crispy.

After about two minutes, remove to a plate and use a pizza cutter to cut the quesadillas. Serve and enjoy!!!!

Crockpot Pulled Buffalo Chicken

This meal takes some time to make initially in your crockpot, so I often make the pulled chicken on a Sunday while I'm at home doing domestic chores, then I make quesadillas and sliders with the chicken through the week. It's a MAJOR hit, and J asks for it quite often. It's good for potlucks and tailgate parties as well...quite the crowd pleaser!

For the chicken...

Total prep time: 10 minutes

Total cook time: 5 hours, 30 minutes

What you will need (for the chicken):

A crockpot

3-4 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)

One package of Hidden Valley Dry Ranch Mix

12 oz Frank's Wing Sauce (you can use a little more to add some more heat if you want)

2 tbsps butter

1 tbsp minced garlic

This is the beauty of a crockpot recipe. Literally, all you are going to have to do is dump all of the ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook. But to be more specific:

Place your chicken in a single layer in your crock pot, then put the ranch mix, garlic, and butter on top of the chicken. NOTE: Some people prefer to use the entire packet of ranch mix. I find that it actually makes the meat much more salty once it cooks down, so I tend to use about 3/4 of the packet. Experiment and see what works for you!

Then pour all of your hot sauce over the dry ingredients and shmear it around to make sure your chicken is covered.

Cover the crock pot and cook on low for about 5 hours. Don't be afraid to leave the house while your crock pot is on; that's the whole point of the crock pot. When you get back, take your chicken out and put it on a cutting board. It should look something like this:

You know you are on the right track if it starts falling apart as you take it out of the crock pot. If it still seems slightly tough, you can let it keep cooking for another 30 minutes. But if it's ready, use two forks on each piece and just start moving the forks back and forth on the meat to "shred" or "pull" the chicken breasts into stringy pieces.

Once you have shredded the entire amount of meat you have, dump it all back in to the crock pot and mix it around to allow it to absorb the juice. Let it cook for another hour on low.

Then, use it to make quesadillas (pictured above and to be described in a separate entry), or sliders with miniature hawaiian rolls and coleslaw stuffed inside. Delicious!!!

Brisket Old-School (Old World?) Style

This is a nice Jewish brisket recipe. It comes out just the way I always remember my grandmother and mother making for me. This takes longer than an hour, but it's an excellent crock pot meal that if you prep the night before, you can put in the crockpot in the morning, and let it cook for 8-10 hours while you work. 

What you will need:

a 5 lb (approximately) lean brisket, trimmed of as much fat as possible
4-5 large new potatoes, cut into eighths (alternately, 6 red potatoes)
two large carrots, peeled and sliced into circles
2 large white onions
6-7 cloves of garlic
1 large container of beef stock
1 small can of tomato paste
1-2 tbsps of canola oil
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1 bay leaf

First things first: Slice your onions into circles and extract your garlic cloves:

Set the onions and garlic aside in a bowl. Then slice your carrots and potatoes:

Set these aside in a separate bowl. Next, you will rinse and trim your brisket. Note, it is considerably harder to trim the fat off of a brisket than it is off of a lamb roast, but can be accomplished in approximately the same manner. Liberally season both sides of the brisket with sea salt and black pepper.

In a large flat saute pan, heat your canola oil. It should coat the bottom of the pan pretty evenly. After it is heated, drop in all of the onions and garlic, and saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until they are slightly translucent. There will be a wonderfully delicious aroma, I promise you.

After they are finished cooking, take the onions and garlic out with a slotted spoon, and put them back in their bowl. Transfer the brisket to the saute pan and turn the heat as high as it will go, as you will be searing the meat. It's ok if it hangs out a little bit; you can pick it up and sear each area.

Leave each side down for about 1-2 minutes; your sear should look something like this:

In the crockpot, pour half of your onion/garlic mixture on the bottom. Then pour in half of your carrots and potatoes. Then pour half of your container of chicken broth in, and place the bay leaf in as well. Mix in 1/2 tbsp of tomato paste. Place the brisket on top of the layer of veggies; it's ok if you have to sort of fold it to get it to fit. Just get it in there. Then spread a thin layer of tomato paste on top of the brisket. Pour the rest of the veggies and chicken stock on top of the brisket, and mix in another tablespoon of tomato paste. shake in some more salt and pepper while you're at it. 

Cook on "low" heat for 8-10 hours. If you are at home, you can take the brisket out around hour 6 and slice it then return it to the crock pot to continue cooking that way; but if not, no worries, it still tastes good if you leave it alone.

To slice the brisket, do as so:

Serve with the delicious vegetables and broth over it, and enjoy!