Jalapeño Kettle Chip Crusted Chicken

Recipe from: My Life as a Mrs.

ingredients:

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup lowfat sour cream

1/4 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) lowfat buttermilk

1 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (the powder)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

dash of cayenne

5-6 hot pickles jalapeno slices, finely chopped

For the Chicken:

4 chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 - 2 pounds total)

1 bag Jalapeno Kettle Chips, crushed

1 cup low fat buttermilk (I used Ranch dressing)

1 teaspoon salt

dash cayenne

directions:

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:

Mix ingredients together (adding additional buttermilk until desired consistency). Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Chicken:

Preheat oven to 375º. Place an oven safe cooling rack in a large jelly roll pan and spray with non-cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, salt, and cayenne. Pound out chicken breasts to roughly 1/2" thickness and add to buttermilk mixture (toss to coat well).

Place crushed Kettle chips in a shallow baking dish. Pull one piece of chicken at a time out of the buttermilk and gently shake to remove some of the excess. Dip into the chips and coat thoroughly on both sides. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken breast are thoroughly coated.

Place into oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until cooked through (cooking times vary based on chicken thickness and actual oven temperature). Serve hot with jalapeno ranch dipping sauce.

**This was super yummy and a little spicy.  The crispiness was a nice addition! 

Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta

Recipe from: How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (I used orecchiette)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks (I used our left over shredded buffalo chicken from here)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 1/2 cups milk

4 ounces freshly grated monterey jack cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese + more for topping

1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

for garnish: 3/4 cup chopped green onions, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, additional buffalo wing sauce

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.  Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions.

3.  While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

4.  Spray a baking dish (9 x 13 is fine, I used a round 4-inch deep dish) with non-stick spray. Add pasta and chicken, then pour cheese sauce over and mix throughly until everything is coated. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately top with gorgonzola, green onions and cilantro. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.