Three culinary worlds have collided with my boredom and landed on a plate. I know, right?!
First of all, lemme describe mochi. Er, rather, let's have Wikipedia describe it: "Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice (not to be confused with gluten) pounded into paste and molded into shape." I found this at Whole Paycheck--read that today while reading a different recipe and it make me laugh--when I was searching for gluten-free stuff. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until I googled "mochi pizza". I found this video, and got inspired.
Fast-forward several weeks. Since today is Friday and I'm home alone, I decided to play around with my burrito leftovers. As I was pulling them out of the fridge, I came across the mochi and had the perfect idea: Mexican mochi pizza! I pan-fried the mochi according to the above video and then layered beans, Tapatio (hot sauce), cheese, sauteed bell pepper, taco meat. After the photo, I added a few slices of avocado, too. DELISH!
This was a pretty ingenious idea, if I do say so myself. Now, a note about mochi--it's dense. I used only half of the 6 oz. block and it was too much. But it tastes fine, not like anything, really. Makes it versatile. When I make the other half, I'm gonna bake it as directed on the package, and I'll try to remember to leave a comment here about it.
I had a brilliant idea.
Buy some garlic naan. Brush with olive oil. Top with whatever you want. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.
(I was so excited to eat this--hadn't eaten all day--that I didn't even think I might want to blog this until it was too late.)
My toppings (in order):
3 cheese blend (parmesan, asiago, romano)
spinach
asparagus tips
sundried tomatoes
artichoke hearts
grilled chicken
Added for the last 5 minutes:
miniscule amount of bacon crumbles
lil more cheese
Amen.
This seemed like such a perfect Super Bowl Sunday dish--buffalo chicken, cheese, potatoes... *sigh*
I am disappointed with the way this recipe turned out. It had SO much potential, but I messed it all up. The boys didn't mind it too much, but I think they were just being nice. The potatoes weren't soft enough, the wing sauce (Jack Daniel's) didn't taste right, and the corn flake crumbs--I suggest using more than called for--weren't crispy. And I used Ranch dressing instead of bleu cheese because of the palates in my house, and I think I shouldn't have. I also just now realized that I left off the green onions.
Anyway, I encourage you to make this, because there is no challenge in it whatsoever and it can be SO much better than what it was.
(Jalapeno cornbread in the background, which was also a bust)
Buffalo Chicken and Potatoes
1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
6 cups frozen (thawed) southern-style hash brown potatoes
1 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup chopped green onions (3 to 4 medium)
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
In medium bowl, stir together chicken strips and wing sauce.
In large bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese and soup. Spoon into baking dish. Place chicken strips in single layer over potato mixture.
In small bowl, stir together crumbs and butter. Sprinkle in baking dish.
Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with green onions.
