Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes

I made something off of Pinterest. I did! And it didn't turn out to be some dismal failure that is worthy of going onto some mocking tumblr created by a bitter basement dweller. It actually worked. It was good.

It was - BUFFALO CHICKEN CUPCAKES.

I started a pin category of FOOTBALL FOOD a few weeks ago because let's face it, this is some of nature's most perfect food, mostly because it goes well with beer.

So here is how you make this lovely food

Recipe - Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast shredded
Franks Hot Sauce - or whatever you like for Buffalo
Blue cheese - about one cup
Pizza dough mixed (I used Jiffy brand, it's cheap and it's fine but you use what you like).

Oven Temp 400. Cook 15-18 minutes.

1. Make your dough and roll  it flat. I just use the palm of my hands. Flour your surface or you'll be pissed off like I was.

Make a rectangle on your surface.

2. Take your shredded chicken, and stir in your hot sauce to taste. At this point you can either drop in the cheese and mix it up or opt to add a layer of the cheese. I chose the latter.

The original recipe for this calls for mozzarella cheese. I put this in the same category of people who eat their hot wings with ranch dressing. NO. NO NO NO NO CRETINS. BLUE CHEESE with buffalo. But, as you like I suppose. You could use mozzarella if you had to. (Not insinuating you are ACTUALLY  a cretin if you like the mozz better but, BUFFALO! BLUE CHEESE! HEAR ME!)

3. The next step is the tricky one - if you've ever made cinnamon rolls you know what's coming - you roll it long ways - rolling the chicken and cheese mixture around in a spiral. 

3. Use liner papers or grease your muffin pan. Cut your log roll of buffalo chicken blue cheese awesomeness into about 1/2 inch tall cupcakes (I use this term loosely) and put them in the pan. I got 12 out of it. She cut her thinner in the original recipe and got more. You work out what you like. 

3. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 400. 

They were freaking delicious. How could they not be? Pizza dough, blue cheese, buffalo chicken? It's a magical combination of goodness.

And huge props and a thank you to the lady who recreated the recipe from her favorite stoney-run pizza place and blogged it. It's a cute story worth reading for sure. Plus you get her original recipe which is brilliant.

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Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes

I made something off of Pinterest. I did! And it didn't turn out to be some dismal failure that is worthy of going onto some mocking tumblr created by a bitter basement dweller. It actually worked. It was good.

It was - BUFFALO CHICKEN CUPCAKES.

I started a pin category of FOOTBALL FOOD a few weeks ago because let's face it, this is some of nature's most perfect food, mostly because it goes well with beer.

So here is how you make this lovely food

Recipe - Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast shredded
Franks Hot Sauce - or whatever you like for Buffalo
Blue cheese - about one cup
Pizza dough mixed (I used Jiffy brand, it's cheap and it's fine but you use what you like).

Oven Temp 400. Cook 15-18 minutes.

1. Make your dough and roll  it flat. I just use the palm of my hands. Flour your surface or you'll be pissed off like I was.

Make a rectangle on your surface.

2. Take your shredded chicken, and stir in your hot sauce to taste. At this point you can either drop in the cheese and mix it up or opt to add a layer of the cheese. I chose the latter.

The original recipe for this calls for mozzarella cheese. I put this in the same category of people who eat their hot wings with ranch dressing. NO. NO NO NO NO CRETINS. BLUE CHEESE with buffalo. But, as you like I suppose. You could use mozzarella if you had to. (Not insinuating you are ACTUALLY  a cretin if you like the mozz better but, BUFFALO! BLUE CHEESE! HEAR ME!)

3. The next step is the tricky one - if you've ever made cinnamon rolls you know what's coming - you roll it long ways - rolling the chicken and cheese mixture around in a spiral. 

3. Use liner papers or grease your muffin pan. Cut your log roll of buffalo chicken blue cheese awesomeness into about 1/2 inch tall cupcakes (I use this term loosely) and put them in the pan. I got 12 out of it. She cut her thinner in the original recipe and got more. You work out what you like. 

3. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 400. 

They were freaking delicious. How could they not be? Pizza dough, blue cheese, buffalo chicken? It's a magical combination of goodness.

And huge props and a thank you to the lady who recreated the recipe from her favorite stoney-run pizza place and blogged it. It's a cute story worth reading for sure. Plus you get her original recipe which is brilliant.

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Failing Dairy

So, of late I've had this stomach thing going on that's different from my USUAL stomach thing. Beyond the reflux and burning and whatever that I keep at bay with medicine, I've had this weird thing happen when I eat.

Sometimes when I eat, I will feel suddenly so full that I feel like I'm going to be sick. It occurred to me one night that, the exact feeling was that sensation that your food hasn't gone down right, that your stomach isn't emptying. The food seems to just SIT there, like I'm having some weird random bout of gastroparesis. The best way I can describe it is, you know the moments before the nausea but you know you ARE going to throw up?

That feeling.

It was hard to pinpoint at first. My first challenge was, I never eat LARGE meals. I just can't, I suppose related to my other stomach issues. So, my meals aren't that big so I should NOT feel like I just gorged at the buffet. Next it was just so random, it wasn't every meal it just seemed to pop up so randomly.

The first moment it popped up isolated that I pinpointed it was at work. I grabbed an ice cream out of the machine at work, and sat back down at my desk, nibbling and doing my thing when suddenly.........OH GOD YUCK my stomach went from hungry to overfull and bloated.

I told my friend Christine I had just had ice cream, and she immediately said DAIRY.

I considered it, and I meant to pay more attention but didn't for a couple of weeks. But I've been miserable on and off for a couple of days and then I decided I had to notice. In the morning after my breakfast yogurt, ugh misery.

Dairy.

I started reading about lactose intolerance. I'm giving it a maybe and decided that I would try to avoid dairy this weekend which I've already failed. Our mashed potatoes for dinner had butter and sour cream mixed into them, however they didn't bother me. I didn't put butter on my roll. I had pork loin, mashed potatoes and green beans and a roll, and no stomach problems at all.

So then. I HAD dairy but no problem.

This morning though as I was making the twins breakfast, I was pouring chocolate milk and took a drink to lower the level of milk in the cup (sure that's why), and within a few moments my stomach was UGH FULL.

My food intake as of that moment in time was two viactiv chews for my vitamin D and calcium, a glass of water, and that sip of chocolate milk.

Dairy.

I don't even know what to think but I'm going to figure it out and if I have to stop eating dairy I guess I will. It's a miserable feeling so I feel like it's a small sacrifice but man I will miss Greek yogurt because it's truly the best stuff ever for breakfast.

This is my surprised face. I don't know why. But it made me laugh.

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Failing Dairy

So, of late I've had this stomach thing going on that's different from my USUAL stomach thing. Beyond the reflux and burning and whatever that I keep at bay with medicine, I've had this weird thing happen when I eat.

Sometimes when I eat, I will feel suddenly so full that I feel like I'm going to be sick. It occurred to me one night that, the exact feeling was that sensation that your food hasn't gone down right, that your stomach isn't emptying. The food seems to just SIT there, like I'm having some weird random bout of gastroparesis. The best way I can describe it is, you know the moments before the nausea but you know you ARE going to throw up?

That feeling.

It was hard to pinpoint at first. My first challenge was, I never eat LARGE meals. I just can't, I suppose related to my other stomach issues. So, my meals aren't that big so I should NOT feel like I just gorged at the buffet. Next it was just so random, it wasn't every meal it just seemed to pop up so randomly.

The first moment it popped up isolated that I pinpointed it was at work. I grabbed an ice cream out of the machine at work, and sat back down at my desk, nibbling and doing my thing when suddenly.........OH GOD YUCK my stomach went from hungry to overfull and bloated.

I told my friend Christine I had just had ice cream, and she immediately said DAIRY.

I considered it, and I meant to pay more attention but didn't for a couple of weeks. But I've been miserable on and off for a couple of days and then I decided I had to notice. In the morning after my breakfast yogurt, ugh misery.

Dairy.

I started reading about lactose intolerance. I'm giving it a maybe and decided that I would try to avoid dairy this weekend which I've already failed. Our mashed potatoes for dinner had butter and sour cream mixed into them, however they didn't bother me. I didn't put butter on my roll. I had pork loin, mashed potatoes and green beans and a roll, and no stomach problems at all.

So then. I HAD dairy but no problem.

This morning though as I was making the twins breakfast, I was pouring chocolate milk and took a drink to lower the level of milk in the cup (sure that's why), and within a few moments my stomach was UGH FULL.

My food intake as of that moment in time was two viactiv chews for my vitamin D and calcium, a glass of water, and that sip of chocolate milk.

Dairy.

I don't even know what to think but I'm going to figure it out and if I have to stop eating dairy I guess I will. It's a miserable feeling so I feel like it's a small sacrifice but man I will miss Greek yogurt because it's truly the best stuff ever for breakfast.

This is my surprised face. I don't know why. But it made me laugh.

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In Love With Food

So subscription boxes are all the thing right now. I get Birchbox which for about 10 bucks a month delivers a box chocked full of beauty stuff to me, samples - sometimes oversized samples and then at least one full sized item. Usually the full sized item is about worth then 10 bucks on it's own, or close to it.


I like it. It's a treat and I've actually discovered some things I would never have tried on my own plus heck I think I solely live on the various old lady creams they always include.

But the one box that's sweeping the world is GRAZE BOX. Which is awesome, it's full of gourmet nibbles for you to sample and try out. That's super, except, you can't get one. They are invitation only and each subscription includes ONLY one subscription to pass out. So it's not like your friends can invite you willy nilly.

My husband discovered LOVEWITHFOOD.COM . Which is the same principle, for a small monthly subscription you get a box of goodies to sample and nibble. But what's great is that they also donate a meal which they give you all the details about on their website.

Last night we tried out the Smoky Chili & lime garbanzo beans. They were like LIME LIME LIME LIME FIRE.
Which was really pretty good.

So If you like to try adventurous new things, check out Inlovewithfood.com cuz god knows you can't get a Graze Box.

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In Love With Food

So subscription boxes are all the thing right now. I get Birchbox which for about 10 bucks a month delivers a box chocked full of beauty stuff to me, samples - sometimes oversized samples and then at least one full sized item. Usually the full sized item is about worth then 10 bucks on it's own, or close to it.


I like it. It's a treat and I've actually discovered some things I would never have tried on my own plus heck I think I solely live on the various old lady creams they always include.

But the one box that's sweeping the world is GRAZE BOX. Which is awesome, it's full of gourmet nibbles for you to sample and try out. That's super, except, you can't get one. They are invitation only and each subscription includes ONLY one subscription to pass out. So it's not like your friends can invite you willy nilly.

My husband discovered LOVEWITHFOOD.COM . Which is the same principle, for a small monthly subscription you get a box of goodies to sample and nibble. But what's great is that they also donate a meal which they give you all the details about on their website.

Last night we tried out the Smoky Chili & lime garbanzo beans. They were like LIME LIME LIME LIME FIRE.
Which was really pretty good.

So If you like to try adventurous new things, check out Inlovewithfood.com cuz god knows you can't get a Graze Box.

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Regarding Avocados

Ok so, let's get this part out of the way. I don't eat a lot of vegetables. Or, any of them. (Ok exaggeration). But, some of them are just so much grosser to me than the others, that I can barely even stand them.

A recent addition to this list is avocados. Not because of anything the avocados have done. They're still laying about being green with the big pit and rather innocuous.

No.

It's the gawdawful commercials.

On the radio several times a day during my ATL commute, I have to hear these nauseating commercials about avocados. Seriously, do avocados NEED better PR? That's my first question. Because people who love them seem to truly just BE MAD FOR THEM. Secondly, PLEASE MAKE LESS ANNOYING COMMERICALS.

The one with the lady pretending to have a cooking show? She's saccharine and annoying during her make believe, and then it's just sort of pitiful and embarrasssing for her when she gets caught by her kid playing make believe, please knock that one off.

But the worst one? The lady who who made chicken salad and chopped up avocados in it and brought it to work. Her boss steals her sandwich and then I SWEAR you give me like, 15-20 seconds of me LISTENING TO HIM EAT IT? I can HEAR HIS SALIVA and every chomp. It's VILE.

Literally, it's sickening. If he was sitting next to me in a  restaurant I'd have to hum loudly to get that sound out of my own head so that I could eat. Who thought this was a great idea?

You might think oh well there they are successful because they've got you thinking about avocados but I'd disagree. Because you see, they didn't convert me - which should be their goal by spending advertising money. They should be seeking out us NON-avocado consumers and making us COVET their product. Instead, I think "Why would I want an avocado? Apparently you live in fantasy land and eat like a foul pig if you eat them."

Also, I have PMS. Can you tell?
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Regarding Avocados

Ok so, let's get this part out of the way. I don't eat a lot of vegetables. Or, any of them. (Ok exaggeration). But, some of them are just so much grosser to me than the others, that I can barely even stand them.

A recent addition to this list is avocados. Not because of anything the avocados have done. They're still laying about being green with the big pit and rather innocuous.

No.

It's the gawdawful commercials.

On the radio several times a day during my ATL commute, I have to hear these nauseating commercials about avocados. Seriously, do avocados NEED better PR? That's my first question. Because people who love them seem to truly just BE MAD FOR THEM. Secondly, PLEASE MAKE LESS ANNOYING COMMERICALS.

The one with the lady pretending to have a cooking show? She's saccharine and annoying during her make believe, and then it's just sort of pitiful and embarrasssing for her when she gets caught by her kid playing make believe, please knock that one off.

But the worst one? The lady who who made chicken salad and chopped up avocados in it and brought it to work. Her boss steals her sandwich and then I SWEAR you give me like, 15-20 seconds of me LISTENING TO HIM EAT IT? I can HEAR HIS SALIVA and every chomp. It's VILE.

Literally, it's sickening. If he was sitting next to me in a  restaurant I'd have to hum loudly to get that sound out of my own head so that I could eat. Who thought this was a great idea?

You might think oh well there they are successful because they've got you thinking about avocados but I'd disagree. Because you see, they didn't convert me - which should be their goal by spending advertising money. They should be seeking out us NON-avocado consumers and making us COVET their product. Instead, I think "Why would I want an avocado? Apparently you live in fantasy land and eat like a foul pig if you eat them."

Also, I have PMS. Can you tell?
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Bento Boxes Are My New Crack

I'm not sure why. It started with someone on Plurk getting one. And loving it. Then other people on plurk got them, and people started talking about them and posting pics of them.
And I am kind of addicted to the idea of getting one now.

In terms of portion control they're a win. But, there is something about them that just says LUNCH CAN BE FUN.

I love the idea of filling it with something tasty and good and making it a challenge to see how much goodness can go inside.

It is entirely possible that I only want them because they are cute.
Is that wrong?

I am ordering one that I've painstakingly picked out from all the choices available on the web.

I will let you know if this is actually enough food to feed a 42 year old American mother of 4!
I'm totally excited to find out.

I can't remember the last time I was this fascinated with something. Bizarre, eh?

Bento Boxes Are My New Crack

I'm not sure why. It started with someone on Plurk getting one. And loving it. Then other people on plurk got them, and people started talking about them and posting pics of them.
And I am kind of addicted to the idea of getting one now.

In terms of portion control they're a win. But, there is something about them that just says LUNCH CAN BE FUN.

I love the idea of filling it with something tasty and good and making it a challenge to see how much goodness can go inside.

It is entirely possible that I only want them because they are cute.
Is that wrong?

I am ordering one that I've painstakingly picked out from all the choices available on the web.

I will let you know if this is actually enough food to feed a 42 year old American mother of 4!
I'm totally excited to find out.

I can't remember the last time I was this fascinated with something. Bizarre, eh?

The County Fair Rocks My Socks

Any event which starts out with funnel cakes, fresh lemonade and whatever the hell that sandwich is my husband got- RULES. It is some sort of cheese meat peppers thing. Philly Cheesesteak of some sort? I dunno.

It's sloppy. It's calorie filled. And none of it has nutritional value of any sort (except the lemonade which will ward off scurvy thankfully).

We took the oldest boy to the fair as his birthday outing.


It seems like he might be too big for some of the rides though.



Well that's ok because there were still lots of things to like, such as - THE FAN RIDE!

And we went and beheld that the animals and crops were plentiful and there was no need to sacrifice anyone to make sure we all lived through the winter...

And the rides weren't all so boring...I promise...

And even more importantly, there were foods on sticks and fried foods.

Yes, the harvest was good. There will prosperity and health in the coming winter.



And I am thankful.
This last picture is for my friend Prad, who told me to EAT SOME SALAD when I was salivating over what I was going to eat at the fair.
There Prad. Deep Fried Veggies. Does that count?
PS - I didn't eat any - that sounds too close to healthy.

The County Fair Rocks My Socks

Any event which starts out with funnel cakes, fresh lemonade and whatever the hell that sandwich is my husband got- RULES. It is some sort of cheese meat peppers thing. Philly Cheesesteak of some sort? I dunno.

It's sloppy. It's calorie filled. And none of it has nutritional value of any sort (except the lemonade which will ward off scurvy thankfully).

We took the oldest boy to the fair as his birthday outing.


It seems like he might be too big for some of the rides though.



Well that's ok because there were still lots of things to like, such as - THE FAN RIDE!

And we went and beheld that the animals and crops were plentiful and there was no need to sacrifice anyone to make sure we all lived through the winter...

And the rides weren't all so boring...I promise...

And even more importantly, there were foods on sticks and fried foods.

Yes, the harvest was good. There will prosperity and health in the coming winter.



And I am thankful.
This last picture is for my friend Prad, who told me to EAT SOME SALAD when I was salivating over what I was going to eat at the fair.
There Prad. Deep Fried Veggies. Does that count?
PS - I didn't eat any - that sounds too close to healthy.

Baked Beans And Potato Chips

So I have a weird thing about baked beans. I don't eat them with utensils. I use potato chips like a spoon.
It's quite good. It's that fantastic combination of salty chips and brown sugar sweet beans that soothes the PMS beast.
But that isn't why I started eating them like that.
I actually started eating them like that because my parents had these friends who were jerks.
Ok they weren't terrible jerks,but the mom was kinda absent minded. And we'd cook out at their house,and time after time the kids wouldn't get utensils. Which was no big whup for the hot dogs or hamburgers and chips etc........but usually there would be baked beans.
And I LIKE baked beans.
So I'd to what any kid does, I'd improvise - and started using the chips to scoop up the beans and eat them.
I'm 41 and I really don't even WANT baked beans without chips these days. I had forgotten until recently why I eat them that way.
I should send them a thank you for denying me utensils. I discovered one of my favorite food treats because of it.
This blog post has no real point. But, I had baked beans with potato chips last night.
And it made me really happy.

Baked Beans And Potato Chips

So I have a weird thing about baked beans. I don't eat them with utensils. I use potato chips like a spoon.
It's quite good. It's that fantastic combination of salty chips and brown sugar sweet beans that soothes the PMS beast.
But that isn't why I started eating them like that.
I actually started eating them like that because my parents had these friends who were jerks.
Ok they weren't terrible jerks,but the mom was kinda absent minded. And we'd cook out at their house,and time after time the kids wouldn't get utensils. Which was no big whup for the hot dogs or hamburgers and chips etc........but usually there would be baked beans.
And I LIKE baked beans.
So I'd to what any kid does, I'd improvise - and started using the chips to scoop up the beans and eat them.
I'm 41 and I really don't even WANT baked beans without chips these days. I had forgotten until recently why I eat them that way.
I should send them a thank you for denying me utensils. I discovered one of my favorite food treats because of it.
This blog post has no real point. But, I had baked beans with potato chips last night.
And it made me really happy.

A Warm Day and The Whistle Stop Cafe

While it's not Florida Warm here we've had a warm couple of days, with temps in the 60s during the day. Since we've been housebound in the cold icky weather recently we decided to get our munchkins out into the fresh air and sunshine for the afternoon.


Dauset Trails Nature Center is a really nice park located about an hour south of ATL. They have rescue animals there of various sorts, Hawks, bobcats bears,bison, deer, turkey and the like - plus a farm setting too. And lots of trails to walk and explore - and with no stroller this is fun fun fun, plus there are trees to hug and fun to have, especially when you are 5 and 3 and 3. I love the rescue aspect of it. These animals would be better off in the wild, except that many are injured and can't be rehabilitated. So they are cared for and enjoyed in this setting. It's quite lovely.

After our day letting them run in the fresh air - get ready girls - we went to the WHISTLE STOP CAFE! Yeah, that's right. The REAL Whistle Stop Cafe from FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!
It was so cool, I had the best time.


Of course we had to try to Fried Green Tomatoes, I'm not a fan but the hubby loved them (I'm not a fan in general but it seemed a moral imperative to try them).


And don't forget if you go - SECRET'S IN THE SAUCE!

It was a great family day out. I suppose now we'll have subzero temps for two months.

A Warm Day and The Whistle Stop Cafe

While it's not Florida Warm here we've had a warm couple of days, with temps in the 60s during the day. Since we've been housebound in the cold icky weather recently we decided to get our munchkins out into the fresh air and sunshine for the afternoon.


Dauset Trails Nature Center is a really nice park located about an hour south of ATL. They have rescue animals there of various sorts, Hawks, bobcats bears,bison, deer, turkey and the like - plus a farm setting too. And lots of trails to walk and explore - and with no stroller this is fun fun fun, plus there are trees to hug and fun to have, especially when you are 5 and 3 and 3. I love the rescue aspect of it. These animals would be better off in the wild, except that many are injured and can't be rehabilitated. So they are cared for and enjoyed in this setting. It's quite lovely.

After our day letting them run in the fresh air - get ready girls - we went to the WHISTLE STOP CAFE! Yeah, that's right. The REAL Whistle Stop Cafe from FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!
It was so cool, I had the best time.


Of course we had to try to Fried Green Tomatoes, I'm not a fan but the hubby loved them (I'm not a fan in general but it seemed a moral imperative to try them).


And don't forget if you go - SECRET'S IN THE SAUCE!

It was a great family day out. I suppose now we'll have subzero temps for two months.