Buffalo Chicken Sliders
I had a taste for a burger, like a REALLY good burger, a burger I wouldn’t mind paying $15 or more for. But I had come to the realization that going out to eat wasn’t good for my health (nor my pockets for that matter). This is typical for me when work is in a consistent state of upheaval and causing unneeded stress. In these moments, I am prone to pull away from my social life as I want to sleep….and eat…at home. But this week I was having a friend over for dinner which would led me back into the kitchen. So I would need to find a cheap, tasty, and healthy-ish meal to satisfy my craving--enter Rachael Ray! Her magazine had a full spread on sliders, thus giving smaller portions to satisfy my taste needs. Also, the sliders were all made of large meatballs—hand to God: huge fan of a good meatball.
The one that stood out to me the most was the Buffalo Chicken Slider. I was raised to believe ALL birds are healthier to eat than mammals. Also, Buffalo flavor can be easily misused. It is the worse feeling to order something with buffalo sauce and it isn’t very flavorful or it is overwhelming. These sliders are just right. I was very happy because it hit the spot that needed the burger. The three I had for dinner was pushing it...but they were just too good!
Money Matters
All of the ingredients were fairly easy to find at the local grocery. If your grocery store doesn’t have an extensive cheese section, then you may have a trouble finding blue cheese, which was the most expensive item in my basket at $7! The total meal came to about $22 for 4 servings—or about $5.50/person. The meal took no more than 30 minutes to make and I did not stray away from the recipe too much...but that doesn’t mean you can’t :)
#ROGUElyfe
- I used a sliced baguette from the bakery section of my grocer instead of slider buns (side note, much cheaper option).
- I used a pre-packaged veggie slaw medley (e.g. carrots, broccoli, and red cabbage) instead of celery.
- The original recipe used a lot of butter and I used exactly what was asked for, but if you want to opt for a healthier option, you could use margarine instead.
- I didn’t make any sides for the meal - the slider were more than enough to fill me up and keep me happy, but you could easily add chips or fries or carrots or celery sticks as a healthier option—the world is your oyster.
My Take
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo sauce, plus more for dousing
1 pound ground chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup of crumbled blue cheese
French baguette sliced for 8 sandwiches
1 cup of dry veggie slaw medley
Directions
In bowl, combine butter and 1 tbsp. hot sauce. In another bowl, mix chicken, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup hot sauce butter. Form into 8 meatballs. In medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium.
Add meatballs; cook until browned all over and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Off heat, douse meatballs with hot sauce. Top each with cheese. Cover skillet until cheese melts. Dip bun bottoms (cut side down) into remaining hot sauce butter and toast.
Build sliders with buns, meatballs and veggies on the bottom.
Happy Cooking Y'all :)