Buffalo Chicken Alfredo

Buffalo Chicken Alfredo, as the name suggests, consists of buffalo sauce, chicken...and you guessed it...alfredo.  Each component individually  is delicious but how does it stack up when combined?  Well I'm here to tell you that it is indeed....delicious.  I personally thought that the cheese-spice balance was perfect, although Casey thought it was a tad spicy(this is Kevin writing btw).  For this recipe we used original Frank's Red Hot sauce which is one of my favorites.  If you don't like as much heat you could try buying Frank's wing sauce which isn't as spicy, or make your own buffalo wing sauce by melting in some butter with original Frank's(fun fact: this is how the original buffalo sauce was made).  We used smaller chicken tender cutlets to get a higher breading to chicken ratio which worked out very nicely with the pasta.  This was a pretty easy recipe to make, and well worth the investment of time.  Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients
1 lb fettuccine pasta
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 lb chicken tenders
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons milk
1 ½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup half and half
3 oz Mascarpone cheese
½ cup buffalo wing sauce
½ cup Parmesan cheese
salt, pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, combine egg and milk in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs to a separate bowl.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in egg mixture, followed by bread crumbs. Cook in skillet until evenly browned, about 6-8 minute per side, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Set chicken aside and keep warm.

Melt butter in the same skillet, slowly pour in half and half and stir in mascarpone cheese until it is fully incorporated. Whisk in Parmesan cheese and buffalo wing sauce. Let sauce cook for at least 1 minute to thicken.

When pasta is ready, drain and combine with buffalo sauce. Serve with chicken tenders.

Broccoli Cheddar Orzo

Back in August I posted a recipe for Parmesan Orzo that I absolutely love and have made multiple times. So I thought when I found this recipe that it would be a no brainer......I would love it! Surprisingly enough, I did not. The dish really lacked flavor and I even put some extra cheese in mine after I tasted it and it still didn't help. I would have that it would have tasted just like cheddar and broccoli, but sadly it just tasted like broccoli with a very watered down, faint cheddar taste. If you try this one, you might need to play around a little bit. Try boiling the orzo in a broth or use more cheese. I don't really know. I'm kind of at a loss with this one! Let me know if you try anything different and how you liked it! Enjoy? :)

Broccoli Cheddar Orzo

Ingredients
1 cup orzo
1-1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4-1/2 cup 2% milk
salt for boiling water and to taste if needed

Fill a medium saucepan with water and a dash of salt and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 3 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for 2 additional minutes, or until orzo is tender.

Drain very well then return to the saucepan. Add cheeses, butter, and 1/4 cup of the milk. Stir well and add more milk if needed. Season with salt to taste.

Deep Fried Tortillini

By now you know how much we love our pasta. It's quick, easy, and it's usually a dish everyone loves. Well when I saw this recipe I was immediately intrigued. I hadn't ever heard of deep frying pasta. I know what you're thinking, pasta is already not very healthy, and now here I  am making it worse. To that I say, everything in moderation! We did slightly modify the recipe from the original. We used different spices, different and jumbo tortellini, and we used our deep fryer instead of doing it on the stove top. It turned out delicious and it only took a couple to fill you up! If you are worried about it being unhealthy, make it for an appetizer for your next party so you'll only eat one or two. They were great reheated too. I just quickly ran them under water and baked them at 350 degrees about 10 minutes or until warm. Experiment with different flavors or tortellini and different sauce combinations.......you won't be disappointed! Enjoy! 

Deep Fried Tortellini

Ingredients
1 qt. peanut oil (in the original recipe, we used our deep fryer)
1 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
3 Tablespoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 (9 ounce) packages of jumbo 5 cheese and spicy sausage tortellini

Pasta or Marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat your deep fryer to 350 degrees. If you don't have a deep fryer, preheat your oil in large stockpot over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with paper towels.

Get out 2 bowls and put the flour in one and the eggs in the other. In a large sealable bag, place your seasonings, cheese, and bread crumbs.

Start placing your tortellini in the flour, tossing to coat. Shake off any excess flour and place in the eggs. Again, shake off any excess, then place in the plastic bag and toss to coat. Repeat the process as many times as needed until all the tortellini are coated.

Once oil has reached the proper temperature, place several tortellini in carefully & allow to cook until golden brown and cooked throughout, about 5-6 minutes in the deep fryer. Remove and place on the baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortellini.

Let cool a couple of minutes and serve warm with any desired dipping sauces.