Ballpark food Part 2: Pittsburgh Fries

This past weekend we were in Pittsburgh and to celebrate the UPitt win, we went to the fattest restaurant in southside. One very appealing and delicious fat dish caught my eye, the fries covered in buffalo sauce, topped with a little Parmesan cheese and served with blue cheese dressing. OMFG.

So In order to celebrate Game 2 of the World Series and cheer on my boy Torres on the Giants, I recreated this to accompany our burgers...

3 Sweet potatoes

1/2 cup red hot

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

"blue cheese" dipping sauce..

3/4 cup Blue cheese (I had Gorgonzola, just as fat and just as good)

2 cups Greek yogurt

1/4 packet of ranch dressing packet (yea I cheated)

1 tbsp mayo (yea CHEESE AND MAYO in one post)

For the blue cheese dressing:

Mix in all ingredients except cheese, whisk well then add in the cheese and mix a little more

I also cut up celery to the go with the blue cheese and it was thebomb.com.

I've blogged about sweet potato friesto in a previous post, so I will keep it short. Wash the potatoes really well, slice them into steak fries size, spread on to cookie sheet and drizzle very lightly with olive oil. Bake on 425 for about 30 mins.

Once they are out, pile onto a plate.

 Lightly heat up your buffalo sauce in the microwave and drizzle allll over the fries. Lightly sprinkle some parmesean cheese on top and serve. Ignore the steam rising from the pile of goodness on the plate.

Buffalo Chicken Dippers

So this is a realllly easy recipe that is always a crowd pleaser.. I haven't met one person that doesn't like it.

You will make this buffalo dip that I blogged about earlier. And instead of serving it all as dip, make little dippers that can travel easy and no need re-heat.

Once you make the dip, line your mini-muffin pan (or cupcake pan) with either pieces of crescent (like this recipe) or an alternative I just learned is that you can take raw Pillsbury FLAKY biscuits and sort of peel them apart and line the pans.

Once you line the pan with your dough of choice, scoop in some 'dip' mixture and then pop them in the oven for about 15-20 min on 375. I like them golden so its closer to about 20 mins when I do it.

You could probably top each little dipper with a few shreds of cheese if you really want but you won't miss it if you don't. 

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Yes, it is football season and that mean buffalo EVERYTHING....My obsession has leaked over to my friend  Karen who made these delish buffalo sliders. This is a nice meal to get your Buffalo wing fix while having a hearty meal..

I love this lasagna especially cooking it in the crockpot!

1 Box Whole Wheat lasagna noodles

7 oz skim ricotta cheese (I had to) 

1 cup Greek Yogurt (non-fat) 

1 packet ranch dressing mix or crumbled blue cheese (w/ oregano, basil & garlic powder added to the yogurt/ricotta mixture...) 

1/2 cup Red hot Buffalo Sauce (the plain.. this one has about 4-5 ingredients)

2 precooked chicken breasts shredded

2 bell peppers

1 jar tomato pasta sauce

or  

homemade tomato sauce

• 2 cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp Basil 
• Pinch of Salt and pepper to taste 
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• Simmer and stir frequently for 15 mins. and more seasoning to taste 

There are two ways to make this, the old school boil the pasta, layer your oven safe baking dish with the lasagna ingredients the bake in the oven at 350 for about 30-45 mins or crockpot it...  

I love crockpotting lasagna especially when making it for a small group..All of the flavors really cook into the pasta once you crockpot lasagna you'll never go back... 

 Crock Pot directions:  

1. Combine your sauce (jarred or homemade) with the red hot and shredded chicken in a bowl. Set aside 

2. Mix together your Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese and Ranch Packet or your greek yogurt, ricotta cheese blue cheese crumbles and oregano etc. (They are both really good options its just a matter of what is lying around.) 

3.Cut up the bell peppers and set aside. 

4. Assemble.....Spoon a little sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, lay down your UNCOOKED lasagna noodles (trust me.) The hardest part about this recipe (and its not even hard) is getting the lasagna noodle to fit in the crock pot. I typically have one long noodle in the middle and the side ones are noodles broken in half, fit however it works for you. The key to crockpot lasagna is that the noodle must be sandwiched between sauce. Layer: Sauce, noodles, sauce, ricotta cheese mixture, bell peppers, sauce, noodles, sauce and so on...repeat.. once you are done, take less than  a 1/4 cup of water and pour over lasagna.  For the top layer I place more sauce, bell peppers and  I like to plop spoonfuls of the cheese/yogurt mixture to give the finishing effect of slices of fresh mozerella!

This is a picture of the finished product mid-serving....

I typically have 4 noodle layers, so it becomes a thick lasagna. Depending on what kind of crock-pot you have cook on your low setting for about 3 hours, checking on the lasagna( I have Warm, Low & High, I cook on Low for 3 hours or warm for 6) 

About two and half hours in stick a knife in the middle of the lasagna and if goes through smoothly and there is no dry noodle cracking sound you are good to go. Turn off the crock-pot take off the lid and let this sit for about 30 mins. Do not skip or else you'll have a  sloppy lasagna.

Ps Soon I will make a mexican lasagna and show the layering in the crockpot...I am new to this recording every step while cooking, sorry!

Skinny-Fat Buffalo Chicken Dip

Skinny-fat is the perfect description, if you are careful about what you eat you'll love this, if you're someone who steers clear of healthy food, you'll love this. Basically this is the bomb.com recipe.

3 cups Non-fat Greek yogurt

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix packet (there is a reduced sodium one)

1 tablespoon of Mayo (optional, I only do this bc I have the olive oil based mayo)

Red hot, lotsssss of red hot

1-2 chicken breasts depending on taste. (I do one)

Slow-cook, bake or boil the chicken doesn't really matter how, but cook it thoroughly so you can fork shred it.

Once the chicken is shredded add red hot...add some more.

Mix the yogurt with the spice packet, mayo(optional) then add the chicken. Mix well. If serving for a big group I like to serve it in a microwaveable bowl, top with a little cheese (to give the illusion of fat) even some breadcrumbs in order for it to have that 'broiled' look, pop in the microwave for a few to melt the cheese......Ta da!!! Skinny-fat dip for all.

Serve with Bread, chips, I like celery (duh). No one will miss the cream cheese, sour cream, and all the jiggling that comes with it, and if they do, they shouldn't' be your friend.

There is also a crescent app variation of this that I've done for parties on the go where I don't want to reheat and want to keep it strictly a finger food, that will be in a separate appetizer post in the future. Stay tuned!