July 19, 2017

Spicy Chip-Crusted Buffalo Ranch Chicken

Name: Spicy Chip-Crusted Buffalo Ranch Chicken
Prep time: 180 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 200 min
Ingredients: 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 1 cup southwest-style ranch ((can substitute regular)); 1 generous dose Frank's RedHot® sauce ((eyeball it to your taste - I used a whole lot, but I also love spicy food)); 1 1.5 oz bag Kettle Brand® Chile Verde chips ((finely crushed)); 1 avocado ((sliced, for serving)); Mexican or Spanish-style rice ((for serving))

So how’s everybody’s summer been? I, for one, have had a crazy busy time of it all. Between starting work full-time and trying to get my apartment all set up, I’ve been running around non-stop. I mean, it’s been over a month since I moved in and I just now had my first pool day! There’s no time to rest though, because getting a new house all put together is no joke. It’s not only time-consuming, but expensive as well. I’ve been working all the hours I can just so I can get all the furniture and decorations we want. Even this late into the game, I’m still staring at a bunch of empty furniture boxes stacked up in my hallway, waiting to go out to the recycling. It’s all coming together, though, which is exciting to say the least!

With all the chores and errands I have to do, it’s hard to get the time to sit down and plan out a good meal. This is especially true when I work so many nights, and we have to resort to frozen pizza late at night because there’s no time to cook. So when I do have a day off, I take every advantage of it and make sure to make time for a fresh-cooked dinner. After all, eating out is expensive, and home decorating leaves no room in the budget for it! Now, meal inspiration can be hard to come by, which is why I love anything that sparks my interest and gets the creative juices flowing. Enter Influenster, with their #GentsVoxBox campaign! I signed up for this service a little while ago and was chosen to take part in this campaign, where I received a few products in exchange for honest reviews and exposure. There were a few men’s grooming products in the box, which you can read about in my last blog post about my engagement pictures, but I was most excited about the food products that were included. As a food blogger, I relish any chance I get to be creative in the kitchen, and so this box gave me a chance to unleash my inner Chopped contestant. Rather than review the products separately, I decided to show people what you can make with the ingredients and develop my own recipe. I was given a bottle of Frank’s RedHot® sauce and a small bag of Kettle Brand® Chile Verde chips. Challenge. Accepted.

What I came up with was a crunchy, juicy, spicy, and flavorful chicken recipe that’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. After marinating the chicken all day, cooking it was an absolute breeze. While most guys in the campaign talked about how they were going to use their hot sauce to grill up some chicken, this recipe is perfect for all year-round because there’s no grill required (mostly because I can’t have one in my building and it’s not necessarily a tool I’m well-versed in). But I promise, the chicken is just as flavorful and juicy as if Bobby Flay himself had grilled it*.

*If you are Bobby Flay, please don’t take this as a challenge to throw down with you. Give me, like, five years. Thanks.

The flavor is, of course, helped by a generous portion of Frank’s RedHot®. I’m a huge hot sauce fan, and have been known to put it on everything – especially my favorite taco ring. I, like Beyoncé, have hot sauce in my bag. Fortunately, mine is not a baseball bat with a vengeful streak against my husband, so it’s a little more portable and a lot more palatable. But the sauce really shines when you pair it with the smoke and spice of Kettle Brand’s® Chile Verde flavored chips. I love Kettle Brand® because of the unique flavors they have (umm a maple bacon flavored chip? Yes please.), and they’re a pretty good price for a good portion of chips. You can find both of these great ingredients at your local grocery store, and I definitely recommend that you check them out. Keep summer spicy, y’all!

That’s it for me for now, as I have to go take care of the aforementioned boxes and get ready for another work shift. But what about you? If given these ingredients, what would you come up with? Or would you just eat them separately (totally understandable)? Let me know in the comments, and tell me if there’s any other ingredients you would like to see me experiment with!

Disclaimer: The delicious Frank’s® and Kettle Brand® products were provided to me complimentarily via Influenster as part of their #GentsVoxBox campaign in exchange for honest reviews and feedback. All words and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. Shop smart, kids.