dinner – And What I Ate

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

Texas is good at a lot of things, but they miss the mark on anything buffalo (wings, hoagies, bites, etc.). I’ve really been missing that food since we moved here, and finally came up with a recipe that solves my cravings, sneaks in some veggies and can even be made gluten-free. It’s awesome and one of my go-to’s when I need some comfort food.

BUFFALO CHICKEN MEATLOAF (serves 3-4)

1 Lb. ground chicken
1/3 c. blue cheese dressing, plus more for dipping
4 Tbsp. Frank’s Red Hot (or your favorite hot sauce)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. onion powder
3 scallions (whites and greens)
1 large stalk celery, diced (plus more stalks for serving on the side)
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1/2 c. almond meal (or flour if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine all ingredients except for the blue cheese and Frank’s Red Hot.
Form into a meatloaf shape, place into a lightly greased pan.
Combine blue cheese & Frank’s Red Hot, pour over the meatloaf to coat.

5. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, carefully pouring off the runoff after about 25 minutes.

6. Let rest for about 5 minutes, them slice and serve with a drizzle of blue cheese and fresh-cut celery sticks.

Spinach Pie

Ughhh, I love this so much. It’s like a giant spanikopita, which is one of my favorite foods in the world. It’s both healthy and indulgent enough, needs almost zero seasoning, and can be prepped the day before, then assembled after work for a quick meal that’s ready in no time flat.

32 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained really well
1.5 tbsp. EVOO
1 large vidalia onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. dried dill
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 C. crumbled feta
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 eggs
One sheet puff pastry
1 egg (for egg wash on puff pastry)

1.Preheat oven to 375.

2.Heat the 1.5 TBSP EVOO over medium in a large saucepan.

3.Dice onion and mince garlic, then add to the saucepan and stir until soft and translucent.

4.Remove onion mixture from saucepan and set aside to cool.

5.Wring out as much liquid as possible from thawed spinach, using a cheesecloth, or in small fistfuls with your hands. This is key so you don’t have a soggy spinach pie.

6.In a large bowl, combine the spinach, the room-temperature garlic and onion mixture, the feta, nutmeg, salt, pepper, dill, lemon and two eggs. Mix well to combine. If you’re going to make this the day before, so the flavors really meld together, leave out the eggs until the next day.

7.Roll out the sheet of puff pastry according to directions, then line a standard-size pie pan with it.

8.Top the pastry with the spinach mixture, evenly spreading it around the pie pan.

9.Fold pastry over itself, then brush with the egg wash (use the remaining egg for this).

10.Bake for 45 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.

11.Let cool for five minutes, cut and serve.

Paleo Chicken Fingers (Gluten-free)

Ok, to preface this – I am not “going gluten-free.” However, I’m half Sicilian, and I love pasta way too much. And I also have a wedding dress I need to fit into in seven months, so something’s got to be done. So for the past few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with gluten-free recipes during the week, and “cheating” during the weekends. It keeps me in check with what I’m consuming, especially down here in Texas, and the portion control piece of all of this is also working out better than I expected. After three months of indulging in our new city, it’s time to reign it back in. And it’s a testament to these recipes that Brendan had NO CLUE I’d decided to start eating, and cooking, gluten-free. These were seriously delicious.

PALEO CHICKEN TENDERS (serves 4)

1 lb. chicken breast or chicken tenders
1.5 C almond meal (Bob’s Red Mill makes a great combo of the meal/flour)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375.
Prep your setup: in one bowl, have the eggs. In another, larger bowl, combine the almond meal with the spices.
Using a fork (this will keep your hands from getting all breaded, themselves) dip the pieces of chicken first in the eggs, then on both sides in the almond meal, lightly pressing to make sure the almond meal forms a good coating on the chicken.
Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray or rub some olive oil on it.
Place the “breaded” chicken on the baking sheet, then bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping once, until golden and chicken is cooked through.
Serve with a side of honey mustard – I made this by just combining dijon mustard with a little honey and a little mayo – and some green beans. So good.