Buffalo Chicken Tacos W/ Blue Cheese Aioli
If you have leftover buffalo wings from a pizza & wings night or just regular hot wings night, you can easily turn the meat into Buffalo Chicken Tacos. But, if you don’t have leftovers and craving for these tacos, here’s an easy way to make some. Boneless chicken breasts not necessary. I used chicken leg quarters which worked out perfectly so let me show you how.
| Buffalo Chicken Tacos W/ Blue Cheese Aioli |
- 3 leg quarters
- 1 cup of flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 avocado, cubed
- a bowl of chopped up salad mix
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- a little bit of oil
- 12-15 corn tacos
- 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- sprinkle of slat and pepper
- sprinkle of Italian seasoning
BLUE CHEESE AIOLI
- Preheat oven to 365 degrees.
- Combine flour, with salt and pepper. Drench the chicken quarters with the flour mixture. Place the chicken pieces in a foil lined pan. Stick the pan in the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Once the chicken quarters have baked, let them cool on top of a cutting board for a few minutes. Pick off the meat from the bone. Roughly chopped ‘em up to get medium chunks. I reserved one leg quarter for my children who couldn’t eat the hot stuff.
- Melt butter in a pot then stir in the buffalo sauce. Add the chicken meat into the sauce. Stir gently to coat the chicken with the sauce. Taste and adjust according to your hot sauce preference.
- Blend together blue cheese dressing, sour cream, salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning. Transfer in a bottle dispenser or in a bowl(cover), then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Assemble the buffalo chicken tacos: corn tortilla, chicken, salad mix, avocado, aioli, and shredded cheddar cheese.
CORN TORTILLAS:Brush a little bit of oil into a heated pan, lightly toast eash side of the corn tortilla, about 6 seconds each. Do this in batches.
AIOLI:
Baked Penne
If you search the archives, you’ll find recipes for baked spaghetti with mushrooms, easy baked macaroni, and baked spaghetti alfredo w/ mushrooms & capers. The same idea, same concept, and same steps, different kind of pasta and sauce for variety’s sake. I’m adding baked penne in the archives. The end result is the same delicious pasta dinner that the whole family loves.
| Baked Penne |
- 1 box of penne pasta, cooked al dente
- 1-2 pounds of groundbeef
- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
- a sprinkle of Italian seasoning (or dried oregano and basil)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- Cook the pasta according to its box. Al dente is good.
- While the pasta cooks, brown the ground beef in a pan. Drain the oil. Add the spaghetti sauce, 2 tbsp of sugar and sprinkle of Italian seasoning. Stir everything together. Cover and simmer, opening it occasionally to stir. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes or so.
- Preheat the oven to 365°.
- Transfer the cooked penne(sans the water) into the pasta sauce pan. Stir, then add 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Incorporate the cheese by stirring it again. Transfer the whole thing into a baking pan. Top it with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese, evenly.
- Stick it in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Let it sit in the counter for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with green salad and cheesy garlic bread on the side.
Creamy Beef Linguine W/ Black Olives
Here’s something creamy and easy to make beef linguine with black olives pasta dish. I had some leftover Chardonnay from the Nathanson Creek bottle so I figured I’d pour a little bit of it in the sauce too. Generously sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve with cheesy-garlic bread(use shredded mozzarella cheese for a change) on the side for one delicious pasta meal.
| Creamy Beef Linguini W/ Black Olives |
- 1 box of linguine, cook according to the box(al dente)
- 1 pc of thin steak, slice in strips
- 1 sm onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp of oil
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can of water(use cream of mushroom can)
- 1/2 cup of white wine
- 1 sm can of sliced black olives, drained
- a handful of capers
- sprinkle of dried basil
- sprinkle of dried oregano
- sprinkle of salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Cook the linguine according to the box. Make it al dente.
- Heat up oil in a pan, saute’ chopped onions and garlic. Add the strips of beef. cook until tender, about 5-8 minutes or so. Add the cream of mushroom soup, fill the empty can with water then add that in the pan. Add the white wine and a handful of capers too. Season with dried basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Stir everything around, cover the pan and simmer until it boils.
- Stir in the black olives then add the cooked pasta into the pan. Stir everything together gently.
- Serve in a plate with cheesy-garlic bread.
- Generously sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Entry for Food Friday. 
Duo Of Tacos: Baked Trout & Leftover Chicken Wings W/ Wasabi Aeoli
These fish tacos are very light because the trout were baked instead of the usual drench-battered cod(or salmon) filet and deep-fried version. I only had 4 baked trout when I made this so I decided to pick the meat off of the leftover chicken wings from a hot wings night to serve a substantial dinner. This would be great for lunch too by the way. At the last minute, I decided to experiment and made wasabi-aeoli as a creamy condiment in lieu of regular sour cream to go along with the pico de gallo. The tacos were delicious.
| Duo Of Tacos: Baked Trout & Leftover Chicken Wings W/ Wasabi Aeoli |
- 4 trout fillets
- meat for 5 leftover fried chicken wings(optional)
- pico de gallo (chopped tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, salt and pepper)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- sprinkle of garlic powder
- sprinkle of Italian seasoning
- sprinkle of salt and pepper
- shredded cheddar cheese
- 15-20 corn tortilla
- oil to warm up the tortillas
- WASABI-AEOLI
- 2 spoonfuls of sour cream
- 1 spoonful of mayonnaise
- 1 tsp of wasabi
- 1 strings of cilantro
- 1 tsp of red wine vinegar
- sprinkles of salt and pepper
- Make the pico de gallo in advance. Just combine chopped tomatoes(2), green scallions(2 strings), a few strings of cilantro, then season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle red pepper flakes too if you want. Mix everything in a bow, cover then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Preheat the oven to 355°.
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Rub both sides of the trout fillets. Place in a sheet pan, then bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or so.
- For the Wasabi-Aeoli: Blend together the sour cream, mayonnaise, wasabi, cilantro and seasonings until well combined. Transfer it in a bowl or a condiment bottle, then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- CORN TORTILLAS: Brush a little bit of oil into a heated pan, lightly toast eash side of the corn tortilla, about 6 seconds each. Do this in batches.
- If you have leftover chicken, pick the meat off of the bones, warm up in the microwave.
- Layer the tacos: corn tortilla, baked trout or chicken, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, then a drizzle of wasabi-aeoli.
Use other leftover meat like steak or pork.
Chicken & Green Peppers Tacos W/ Mango Salsa
A simple chicken & green peppers tacos with homemade mango salsa on top for an added crunch and flavor. I actually wanted to add cut up avocado in the salsa too before serving but I decided to just leave it as it is. No biggie coz the tacos were good without the avocado. Maybe next time, but for now, here’s how to make this version.
Chicken & Penne Alfredo
I was actually craving for chicken fettuccini alfredo when I made this chicken & penne alfredo dish but realized that I didn’t have enough fettuccini in the box. I had a full box of penne though so I used that instead. AND, I didn’t have boneless chicken breasts either so I decided to just cut up chicken leg quarters and cook ‘em in big pieces like that. I guess I could’ve deboned the chicken but I was lazy so big pieces it is. to make it a little fancy, I added a splash of Pinot Grigio. White wine in pasta never hurt anyone. In fact, it makes me very happy, Haha!
| Chicken & Penne Alfredo |
- 1 box of penne,cooked according to the box (al dente;)
- 2 leg quarters, cut each in half(or use 6 chicken thighs or legs)
- 1 jar of Alfredo sauce
- 1/2 cup of Pinoy Grigio (use whatever white wine you have)
- 1/2 cup of water
- a handful of capers
- sprinkle of garlic powder
- sprinkle of Italian Seasoning
- sprinkle of salt and pepper
- roughly chopped parsley for garnish
- a little bit of oil
- Cook the penne, according to the box.
- In a pot, heat up oil. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Brown each side for 3-5 minutes. Transfer the browned chicken into a platter. Drain the grease into a bowl.
- Pour the Alfredo sauce into the pot. Add water, white wine, capers, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Whisk everything together. Place the chicken pieces back and the juices into the pot. Stir a couple of times. Cover the pot and let it simmer. Stir occasionally.This pot should be simmer while cooking the pasta in another burner.
- Stir in the cooked penne into the pot of chicken and Alfredo sauce. Stir everything then transfer into a serving bowl/platter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for garnish.
- Serve in a plate and generously sprinkle grated parmesan cheese.
Cajun Spiced Beef Fajitas & Tacos
When I make fajitas or tacos, I usually just season the meat as I cook it. I changed it up a bit the other night by marinating the beef strips in Cajun spices seasonings that I mixed up myself. The entire dinner was really good coz I didn’t just serve the beef as fajitas but as tacos as well. My husband slightly toasted the corn tortillas while I cooked the beef with peppers and onions in between setting up all the condiments for our Mexican dinner.
Dinner @ Two Dogs Pizza
Two Dogs Pizza is the only local owned pizza place where we live. Tonight was the second time we’ve eaten at the place in the year and 2 weeks that we’ve lived in this area. It’s a pretty decent sized local pizza restaurant with a buffet but we’ve discovered tonight only lasts until 2pm. The first time we went there last year we thought the prices were kinda high and the pizzas, although not that bad, are nothing extraordinary. Which explains why in a year and two weeks that we’ve been here, this is the only second time we’ve gone back.
Tonight we ordered from the menu since the buffet(salad and pizzas) was done. We ordered a large Bulldog Bonanza which has sausage, bacon, ham, pepperoni and cheese toppings. We also got a free order of bread sticks.
Pork Chops W/ Salsa & Onions
I’ve combined salsa with chicken a few times and I’ve always liked the flavors. Like the baked chicken with salsa and honey, and the baked chicken quarters with salsa verde. Here’s a pork variation, not baked and with onions.
Homemade Veggie Lovers Pizza
Sometimes I get the urge to just eat vegetables all day. I’m no vegetarian coz I can’t live without pork unless of course I get the crazy idea to join a reality show to win $1Million and be stuck in an island with nothing to eat but exotic veggies. But I digress. Still, I do love vegetables. Gotta have vegetables with every meal. But like I said, sometimes I just want to eat veggies and veggies alone. I could’ve just easily sautéed whatever veggies I have from the crisper and come up with a vegetable stir-fry but that would make me crave for rice so I decided to make Veggie Lovers Pizza instead. You can’t eat pizza with rice. Well at least not in this household. My husband said he likes meat in his pizza when he saw it after coming home from work but while eating his 3rd(or was it 4th) slice, he said it was really good. INDEED it was!
