Buff-Chicken Pasta

So the the whole buffalo chicken thing is starting to grow on me.  Slowly but surely.  By the way I just tried to spell "surely" as "shirley".  I should probably not have another glass of wine.  Said no one ever.  Heehee :)

Anyway.  Buffalo Chicken.  For me it started as a dip.  Then there were the wings.  THEN there was the pizza.  AND THEN (no "and then"! <--- name that movie!) there was the pawsta pasta!  Brian special requested "something buff-chicken" for our date night dinner (#again), and I didn't want to do the pizza or the wings, so I started pondering.  I wanted a real dinner, but I didn't want something "regular" like pizza, etc.  AND THEN (sorry, last one!) I saw my "One Pot" cookbook by Martha Stewart and was all "I need pasta in my face", even though that cookbook is not all about the pasta.  Oy!  The things that run through my mind on the daily.

I love this dish because there is just enough buffalo chickeneyness.  Not too hot, but spicy enough to feel the kick.

What you will need to serve 4:

• 3/4 pound of rotini pasta
• 1 to 1 1/2 pound of chicken breasts
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of your-choice Buffalo Sauce (depending on your spice tolerance), plus a little more for drizzling later on
• 2 - 8 oz bags of shredded mozzarella cheese (that sounds so much better than saying 1 pound of cheese)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 package of chunky blue cheese

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Cook the pasta as per the package instructions, drain, and set aside.

Chop the chicken into small cubes and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a nonstick pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil, and add the chicken.  When the chicken is just about cooked, add the chopped scallions and the buffalo sauce.  Stir to combine, and turn off the heat once the chicken has finished cooking.  

In a large baking dish, add a thin layer of pasta (around 2 cups) and top with a large handful of mozzarella cheese.  Add some of the blue cheese chunks on top and half of the chicken mixture.  Top with another thin layer of pasta, mozzarella, and blue cheese.  Add the last half of the chicken mixture, and the remaining mozzarella and blue cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown AND THEN stuff yo face.

Xoxo

Jillan