You know those times when you're lying awake at night thinking about something? Maybe you're thinking about something stressful happening the next day. Maybe it's thinking ahead to the weekend. Maybe you're putting together a mental to-do list (that's my usual). Well, the other night, this recipe was keeping me awake. I know most people don't think about buffalo chicken at 1am, but we've established I'm not normal.

Here was my thought process: the most popular recipe on my blog (crockpot chicken tacos) is such a hit because it's delicious and incredibly easy. The ingredients are chicken, a jar of salsa, and a packet of taco seasoning. The readers, being fantastic as you always are, have commented dozens of ways to make this recipe even better. One of these is adding a block of cream cheese at the end. My favorite dip recipe is this buffalo chicken dip. It knocks the socks off of every other buffalo chicken dip recipe out there. The ingredients are canned chicken, dry ranch, buffalo sauce, cream cheese and cheddar. So, since the powder to liquid ratios are all the same, I saw no reason that I couldn't make easy crockpot buffalo chicken. The raw chicken goes in with buffalo sauce and dry ranch for 4-6 hours and right before it's done you add in a block of cream cheese and stir in some sharp cheddar.

See? It's the kind of thing that will keep you up at night. I can only make crockpot recipes over the weekend because of work, so fast forward two weeks and I'm finally able to give this recipe a try. It was amazing. The creamy cheese flavor mixed with the tangy and slightly spicy buffalo sauce kick...perfect. 

I put the chicken into rolls and made little sliders. I tried using the take and bake rolls from the grocery store and King's Hawaiian slider rolls. I couldn't pick a favorite because I liked them both. I think it'd be good made into quesadillas as well. The key is to make sure it's hot and the rolls are heated too. Just like lukewarm dip isn't ideal, neither is lukewarm crockpot buffalo chicken. 

Enjoy!

Crockpot Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Makes 15+ Sliders

3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (this is what I used)

8oz Buffalo Sauce*

1oz Package Dry Ranch Mix

4-6oz Cream Cheese*

2 cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Add first three ingredients to crockpot and toss to coat. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. 10 minutes before you are finished, shred chicken with two forks. Chicken should shred easily and this will incorporate the extra sauce into the chicken. You will think you have too much sauce before you do this, but as you shred it you'll notice the sauce begins to coat the chicken instead of sitting at the bottom of the pot. There should be no large pieces of chicken left. 

Add in block of cream cheese and stir to melt. Add in sharp cheddar cheese and stir gently. Serve hot. Make sure the slider rolls are also hot. 

If you are bringing them to a tailgate or something of that sort I'd suggest making the chicken and pre-assembling the sliders in a 13x9 pan. Cover the pan with foil and heat at 375 degrees until rolls are warmed as well.  Store leftovers in fridge or freeze to enjoy at a later date!

*You can adjust these up or down depending on how spicy or creamy you want the chicken.

As I've said before, I'm not ashamed to make a recipe that uses a boxed mix.  Sure, you can't call something truly homemade if there's a boxed mix or premade cookie dough in it, but sometimes a little shortcut can be a great thing. I especially love finding a good boxed mix recipe on days where I'm baking multiple things. Having one item that only takes a few minutes to assemble feels like a blessing when it's thrown in with more time consuming desserts. 

If you're one of those people who has never uttered the words "too sweet" this recipe is for you. It's sugar overload. I mean, just look at the ingredients. You know what you're getting yourself into when you make these. The best part is that they are ready to go in the oven in a matter of minutes. I also love that this recipe is extremely versatile. Just check out the Crazy for Crust blog and you'll see what I mean. She has made at least 10 variations of these. I've been drooling over these Caramel Apple Gooey Bars for the past week. It's probably next on my list. Next time you're pressed for time but feel a sweets craving coming on..this is your solution!

Enjoy!
 
Funfetti Gooey Bars
Recipe from Crazy for Crust

Ingredients

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup sprinkles, divided
• 1/2 cup (from a 14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9” pan with foil and spray liberally with cooking spray.
2. Add cake mix, butter, and egg to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until a thick dough forms. Add 1/3 cup sprinkles and stir until incorporated.
3. Press about 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with white chocolate chips and remaining 1/3 cup sprinkles. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top. Separate remaining dough into small balls and evenly space over the top of the bars. Press down to flatten.
4. Bake bars for about 30 minutes, or until they just begin to brown. Cool completely before slicing, otherwise the mixture will be too gooey to cut. Optional: eat straight from pan with a fork.

Homemade Rice Krispie Treats are probably one of the most well-known dessert recipes in America. They are on the back of every box of Rice Krispies and have been a staple at cookouts, potlucks and birthday parties since long before I was born (I was going to say 'since I can remember,' but truthfully that's not all that long). Yet, somehow even with three ingredients, Rice Krispie Treats seem to come in all shapes, sizes and textures. 

Not that I'm a connoisseur of these treats or anything, but I'm here to tell you there is a right way and a wrong way to make them. I myself was in the dark until last week when I realized my Rice Krispie Treats (which I always thought were delicious) were not reaching their full potential. The key is that no one likes a "krispie" Rice Krispie treat. They are supposed to be soft and chewy with just a slight crunch. Usually I love them for the first 12 hours after I make them, but they require finishing off quickly because they'll dry out in a heartbeat. I accepted that as a fact of life until last week. Now I know the trick: the marshmallows are added in two parts. 

Somehow this little alteration in process produces a gooey (gooey--not sticky), soft, flavorful, wonderful batch of Rice Krispie treats. I made two batches in three days because the first batch was gone so quickly. I only used one bag of marshmallows for the batch shown in the pictures. I adjusted the recipe slightly and used ~2 tablespoons of butter and only four cups of Rice Krispies. I think a 9x9 would be a great sized pan for thick treats, but you can use whatever you'd like. The ones in the pictures were made in a 13x9 that I sectioned off with foil to make it more like a 10x9 or or 11x9.

Enjoy!

Perfectly Chewy Rice Krispie Treats

Recipe from Deliciously Declassified

Ingredients

6 cups (1 1/2 – 10 oz. bags) mini marshmallows, divided
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 tbsp butter

Directions

Melt the butter in a large skillet, over medium-low heat
Once the butter is melted, add in 4 cups (1 – 10 oz. bag) of mini marshmallows
Melt the marshmallows over LOW heat, stirring frequently
Once the marshmallows are completely melted, add in the cereal 2 cups at a time, mixing well after each addition
Once the cereal and marshmallows are well combined, toss in the remaining 2 cups of mini marshmallows and fold them into the marshmallow cereal mixture
You can keep the heat on low or totally turn it off – it depends on if you want the mini marshmallows to melt a little bit or not (I usually keep the heat on for a bit while folding in the mini marshmallows)
Spray a 9×13″ baking dish (for thicker treats, just use a smaller dish) with nonstick spray (I use PAM for baking) and transfer the Rice Krispie treat mixture into the dish
Press the mixture down with your fingertips (it helps if you get a little of the nonstick spray on your fingers so they don’t stick to the marshmallow) or you could also use some wax paper to press it down firmly into the pan
Allow the mixture to cool before cutting into squares

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups  (1 1/2 – 10 oz. bags) mini marshmallows, divided
• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 3 tbsp butter

HOW TO MAKE IT

• Melt the butter in a large skillet, over medium-low heat
• Once the butter is melted, add in 4 cups (1 – 10 oz. bag) of mini marshmallows
• Melt the marshmallows over LOW heat, stirring frequently
• Once the marshmallows are completely melted, add in the cereal 2 cups at a time, mixing well after each addition
• Once the cereal and marshmallows are well combined, toss in the remaining 2 cups of mini marshmallows and fold them into the marshmallow cereal mixture
• You can keep the heat on low or totally turn it off – it depends on if you want the mini marshmallows to melt a little bit or not (I usually keep the heat on for a bit while folding in the mini marshmallows)
• Spray a 9×13″ baking dish (for thicker treats, just use a smaller dish) with nonstick spray (I use PAM for baking) and transfer the Rice Krispie treat mixture into the dish
• Press the mixture down with your fingertips (it helps if you get a little of the nonstick spray on your fingers so they don’t stick to the marshmallow) or you could also use some wax paper to press it down firmly into the pan
• Allow the mixture to cool before cutting into squares

- See more at: http://deliciouslydeclassified.com/2013/07/02/how-to-make-perfect-rice-krispie-treats/#sthash.GQSAU4N4.dpuf

I know this seems like an unnecessary recipe..chocolate, pretzels, sprinkles. You can't get much simpler than that. Still, sometimes I feel like it's worth posting this sort of recipe just to remind people how easy so many delicious things are to make.

The salty and sweet combination is hard to beat. As long as you don't burn the chocolate while melting it you should have no problem creating perfect chocolate covered pretzels. I usually just melt regular chocolate chips in the microwave for these, but if you want to make this more foolproof I'd suggest using white melting chocolate. This is especially helpful if you are using white chocolate, which can be pretty finicky and burn easily. You can find melting chocolate near the chocolate chips in most major grocery stores now. You can cover the dipped pretzels with sprinkles, chocolate drizzle, candy cane pieces (the holidays will be here before we know it!), etc.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

1 12oz bag white chocolate chips (melts or squares work too)
1 15-ounce bag mini twist salted pretzles
Sprinkles

Lay out one large baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl, stirring at each interval until smooth and melted. Be very careful not to keep burn the white chocolate, as this happens very quickly. You can also melt it in the top of a double boiler.

If you are making half-dipped pretzels, dip one half of each pretzel into melted chocolate, tapping lightly on the bowl to shake off excess chocolate. Set on baking sheet and add sprinkles before chocolate dries. To make fully dipped pretzels, it's the same process, but you dip the entire pretzel (as I'm sure you would've guessed). Shaking the excess off in this method is more important because it will give you the chocolate dipped pretzel look where you have a very clean coverage without the holes being half covered in chocolate. When you set the pretzel on the baking sheet, you will need to slightly smooth over the place where your finger was. Cover with sprinkles and you won't be able to tell there was an imperfect spot. You can also toss the pretzel in the chocolate and use a fork to dig it out so you avoid this, but as the chocolate starts to thicken this method may be more difficult.

Sometimes I also like to drizzle more melted white chocolate over the top of the pretzels if I'm not using sprinkles. Put the melted chocolate in a ziplock bag and cut off just a small bit of the corner. Then just drizzle the chocolate back and forth over the pretzels. This is an especially pretty tactic if you are decorating for something with a two color theme and you use the colored candy melts.

Place in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.