Healthier Hot Chicken

I am a fan of fried chicken, Buffalo chicken, hot chicken, and other such gut-busting creations. When you want something that at least seems a little healthier, try making some Buffalo Chicken Wraps. I might have posted this one before, but it’s worth looking at again.

Chop up some cucumber, carrots, and celery into bit-sized pieces. This can be done ahead of time and put in the fridge — it’s also a good mix for salads.

Cut up some chicken breast into bit sized pieces. Toss with some “Cajun” spice mix, or just some Salt and Pepper. Let it sit for a bit for the spices to sink in. This can also be done ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Or, make a bigger batch and freeze into individual meals.

Generic “Cajun” Spice Mix

This is mostly by ratios, I made a batch that will fit into a big spice container so I have it on-hand.

2 Tb paprika
2 t onion powder
2 t garlic powder (I use granulated garlic — doesn’t clump, tastes better)
1 t ground coriander (you can make due with cumin)
1 t white pepper (if you don’t have any, just add some more black pepper)
1 t black pepper
1/2 t cayenne

You can also add salt, but I usually leave spice mixes salt-less so I can adjust as needed.

In a measuring cup, mix together 1/4 cup of lime juice (about 2 limes) + 1/4 cup of honey (cheap stuff is fine) + 1/4 cup of Franks Red Hot Sauce. Like the rest of this, it can be done ahead of time and stored in a sealed container in the fridge.

In a non-stick fry pan, add a little oil. Get it hot. Add the chicken breast bits and brown over med-high heat for about 4-6 mins. You want to get them nice and well browned (kinda overcooked) but not burnt. Make sure there’s no liquid (except oil) left in the pan.

Once the chicken is browned, add the sauce mix. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until the sauce is very thick — like honey or syrup. Everything will be well coated and not very watery. It will take 5-10 minutes, depending on your chicken to sauce ratio. You really can’t screw it up, just reduce at a reasonable rate so you don’t burn the sauce.

Once the sauce/chicken mix is done, you can take it off the heat and think about assembly.

If you want to go healthier, use individual leaves of Boston Bibb Lettuce as your serving container. Take a leaf, add some chicken, put on some of the veggie mix. That’s about it. I end up eating about 4-5 of these little wraps of lettuce.

If you want a wrap style, just heat up an uncooked flour tortilla (see this post). Make a burrito out of the chicken and veggies. Probably a good idea to add some chopped lettuce, too.

Since Buffalo Chicken often includes some heat-reducing white dressing, feel free to add some. If you don’t have a lot of time, just add a little dab of store bought Ranch dressing. Or you can go up market a bit and try this:

Blue Cheese Sauce

1/4 c mayo
1/4 c crumbled blue cheese
1 Tb minced parsley
1 t Worcestershire sauce
splash of milk to thin as desired (not too thin)