A couple of years ago I was training a client in his basement. At the time, he was starting to cook and make more meals at home. As we got into the session, he mentioned that he had made buffalo chicken for dinner the night before.
My immediate reaction was a sense of happiness and being proud of him. In that, he took the time to prepare a meal for his family – something that I know wasn’t easy or second nature for him.
My next thought was, why haven’t I made buffalo chicken yet?
I love buffalo wings but can’t really indulge in that kind of deep-fried goodness anymore unless I’m okay with looking like a pimply-faced teenager in the weeks to follow.
However, that morning it dawned on me that I could make a healthy version of buffalo chicken and that’s what I set out to do.
I honestly can’t remember how John made his but our conversion inspired my recipe for you today. Here’s what I came up with and thanks for the inspiration, John!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound chicken breast, pounded 1/2 inch thick
- 1/3 cup celery, diced
- 1/3 cup carrot, diced
- 1/3 cup onion, diced
- 1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
- Buffalo sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
- In a medium-sized pan, heat two teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Begin dicing the celery, carrots, and onion.
- Once the pan is hot, add the celery, carrot, and onion and cook until tender, stirring often – about 5 minutes.
- When the onion appears translucent, turn the heat to the lowest setting to keep warm, stirring occasionally.
- In a large pan, heat two teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Between two sheets of wax paper pound the chicken breast 1/2 inch thick.
- Salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken breast.
- Once the pan is hot, add the chicken breast and cook for approximately 3 minutes per side.
- When the chicken is cooked through, plate and add the *blue cheese immediately so that it begins to soften slightly. *The raw milk cave-aged blue cheese from Trader Joe’s is my go-to.
- Next, add the celery, carrots, and onion on top of the blue cheese and the chicken.
- Finally, top with buffalo sauce (Primal Kitchen is my favorite) and enjoy!