Football Worthy Food

Well this was not last night’s dinner (even though there was a football game on).  Last night was a time consuming Chicken Tortilla soup that was not nearly as tasty as the one I have with 3 ingredients – I will post the easy one here soon.   Last night’s recipe card was tossed quickly (a quote note…if you take the time to make something and don’t like it, either make a note in the cookbook or throw away the card…I have wasted time and money cooking something I didn’t like once and a year later I make it again!)

 I made these pizzas last weekend on a very rainy Saturday when I knew we would be sitting around watching SEC football most of the day (Football is close to religion in my family).  There are certain foods that you need with football – chips, dips, finger foods, nothing fancy etc.  I think there is becoming (at least in the South) a whole new category of food classified as “Tailgate”.  Even though we were not going to the game, I wanted tailgate worthy munchies.  Well, after some searching I went back to my friend Rachael Ray.  If you study her recipes you will find that many of them are a standard dish with a new spin.  (For example the Sheppard’s Pie stuffed potatoes…same ingredients, new presentation).  Anyway, she had a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas.  Wow…two for one on the snack foods, pizza and Buffalo chicken!  They were fun, easy and everybody gobbled them up.  When I do them again (and I will), I may try whole wheat English Muffin or something a little smaller would be easier to handle.  These tasted great, but we all ended up with forks and having some of the chicken fall off the flat bread.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite size pieces

Salt and Pepper

2 Tbsp butter

½ cup Franks Red hot Sauce

4 flatbread rounds (or 8 English muffins, see above)

3 ribs of celery sliced thin on the bias

¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Pre-heat oven to 450

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan on EVOO, about 2 Tablespoons.  Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add them to the pre=heated skillet.  Sauté until cooked through and golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet to melt.  Add the hot sauce and cook stirring occasionally, until the sauce had thickened and coats the chicken (Be careful not to take a deep breath over the pan or the hot sauce fumes could burn your sinuses!)

When the chicken is ready, place the flatbread rounds on a baking sheet and divide the chicken equally between all four rounds.  Scatter the celery over the chicken and top each round with some shredded cheese and blue cheese crumbles.  Bake until the bread is crisped and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.