Browsing the web I found a recipe for buffalo chicken pasta with lots of cheese! I had to make it while my folks were out of town and my boyfriend and I had the house to ourselves. It was a tasty little dinner and we ate the entire thing. Next time I would not make a roux because it was much too thick and made it too dry.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast
- Pasta (I used Rotini)
- Buffalo sauce
- Milk
- Mexican blend cheese
- Tortilla strips
- Salt, peppers, spices
Cook the Chicken
I started by marinating my chicken breast in some ranch dressing and milk so it will balance out with the spicy. I also add salt and pepper, obviously. Cook your chicken; I just sauteed mine in a pan with some olive oil. Make sure to cook it thoroughly and save the juice as it will be great in the sauce.
Boil the Pasta
While you are cooking your chicken, boil your pasta till it is al dente. Be sure to salt the water, liberally. I chose rotini noodles but you could use whatever you like. Rotini just seemed right for this dish. After it is cooked, drain and add to your baking dish.
That Yum Sauce
When your chicken has cooked let it rest somewhere before you chop it up and you will make the tangy sauce. The recipe I looked at called for a roux so I did make one but I found it way too thick with the cheese and the pasta ended up too dry. Next time I would omit the roux.
Start with your chicken juices and add a good splash of milk. Turn the pan to a slight simmer and slowly add in your Mexican blend cheese so it melts. Meanwhile add a generous helping of your buffalo sauce. Add more cheese. If it gets too thick you can add some of the pasta water or more milk.
When it tastes good to you it’s done! I used about 1/3 of my bag of cheese.
Chop that Chicken
Now that your chicken has had time to cool down and rest we will cut it up! I cut my chicken into small bit size pieces. You could shred it if you prefer. (Isn’t my cutting board the cutest?)
Get Mix-y
Now the fun part! Add your cheesy buffalo sauce and the chopped chicken to the noodles and mix it up well. At this point you make want to add some liquid if it is too dry or some seasonings (like cumin). Almost there!
I popped mine into a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Now the fancy part…
I topped mine with crunchy tortilla strips I had leftover from soup. The original dish had cilantro and such on top, nothing I have on hand, so I knew this would make it even better. Add some on top of your bake and put it back into the oven till they are warm. I got impatient and put it under the broiler… it burned only a little.
Enjoy
Time to make a plate and dig in. I’ve never really had buffalo anything but I would make this again in a heart beat. I would like to make it more saucy next time and perhaps had some fresh cilantro. This dish would even be good with some corn or other veggie. Try this dish and let me know how it works for you.
