Buffalo Chicken Salad

Courtesy of Plated Perfection
(Chicken seasoning courtesy of Cooking Light)


I have a serious obsession with buffalo chicken. My love affair is more with the sauce itself, but buffalo chicken is one of my favorite foods ever. Anyone that knows me can attest to that! I had some chicken thighs to use up and was craving buffalo sauce and ranch dressing (one of the best matches ever made). I thought I'd give this a shot. The recipe was originally just for the buffalo chicken thighs, but I decided to just make a salad with it. It was DELICIOUS. Definitely give this a shot! 

Ingredients
6 tb all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cayenne red pepper
8 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
3 tb hot sauce (I used Frank's)
1 tb butter
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or whichever cheese you prefer)
Ranch Dressing (to serve with the salad)
Lettuce for salad (I used butter lettuce) 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Shake to blend. Add half of chicken to bag; seal. Shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag, shaking to remove excess flour mixture. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add flour-coated chicken to pan; sauté 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Transfer browned chicken to a baking dish. Repeat procedure with the remaining uncooked chicken, flour mixture, and oil. Discard remaining flour mixture. Bake chicken at 375° for 8 minutes or until done.
3. Combine hot sauce and butter in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until butter melts, stirring to blend.
4. Top salad with the cheddar cheese, one chicken thigh, and drizzle the buffalo sauce on top of the salad. Serve with Ranch.