Cooking With Luke

It’s no surprise – or maybe it is…maybe I haven’t talked about this enough – but I LOVE cooking.  I enjoy actually doing it, I enjoy eating it, I enjoy it all.  Plus, last week on the podcast (which you can listen to here) we discussed bringing your lunch and some of us – I won’t mention names…yet – just couldn’t believe the prep that went into bringing your lunch.  Well, folks, I’m here to share a story with you.

Let me start by saying I’m the father to two little shithead children  (kidding, they’re not bad).  So, sometimes, cooking comes at a premium.  However, I make it work.  We discussed one of my favorite leftover dishes on the pod and it was Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti.  I love it so much I decided to cook this weekend on a little snippet I like to call Cooking With Luke.  You see, once long, long ago – there was to be a weekly show called Cooking with Luke and Adam – because one thing Adam is very passionate about, also, is COOKING.  But then he goes and rambles in a post about not being passionate about anything.  Because you know why?  He fears commitment or something.  I think he fears fun!  That’s the issue.  Of course, I’d be mistaken if I didn’t give a shout out to Rookie who was going to write a Dos & Don’ts every week which ended at….one.  Or that Andy guy who was going to get back into blogging about his nerdy things (especially those game reviews he promised).  But that’s neither here nor there.  I’ll strap on my apron and get to work.

Here is the recipe – and it’s important because I’m going to tell you how I cook and why ANYONE can do it!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (1/4 cup now, 1/4 cup later)
• 1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix ( packet kind)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch + 1 tablespoon water
• 16 ounces linguine noodles
• Chopped cilantro for garnish optional

Instructions

1. Place chicken, broth, 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, and seasonings in crock
2. Top with cream cheese and shredded cheese
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8
4. When chicken is fully cooked remove to separate bowl and shred with two forks
5. Add remaining 1/4 cup buffalo sauce to chicken and toss to coat
6. Set aside chicken
7. Whisk together corn starch and water and add to crock
8. Use a whisk and stir until cheese and cream cheese is all combined and smooth
9. Break noodles in half and place in crock
10. Top with chicken and cover
11. Turn crock on high for 30-60 minutes until noodles are fully cooked, stir 3-4 times during cooking
12. If noodles are not done you can add extra broth or water 1/4 cup at a time
13. Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve immediately

I started with the chicken – which I didn’t have the right ones, so I tossed a couple long thin chicken things into the crock.

I threw them in frozen because defrosting food then cooking it for 6 hours makes zero sense to me.  Then I threw the rest of the shit on top.  I only had 2 1/2 cups of broth without opening a new broth, so the last half cup is water.  That’s fine.  You ad lib.  I put the entire packet of ranch dressing mix because who wants a half packet laying around? I didn’t measure anything else other than the broth (because that shit is important for the noodle cooking later).

I did a little mix and match with cook time.  I started on low (for 4 hours) then bumped to high (for 2 hours) because I rule the kitchen, not you!  This was boiling in the crock when I was done with it and I knew it would be delicious.  The corn starch thing is important as it thickens it up – but the rest of the recipe is easy…and you know what it looks like after you’re done?!

Now look – it wasn’t all this easy – I didn’t have the right noodles and oddly didn’t have the right substitute noodles, so I used a healthy ass all wheat noodle – which was actually delicious (and healthy!)  Half way through the transition, I looked over to see one of my darling children making a tiny mess with his crumbled cereal.

The best part?  Leftovers the next day!  And the next!  Add some ranch dressing on top.  Damnit, this was good.  Thanks for joining the first installment of Cooking With Luke.  Based on the commitment by the rest of my comrades, this will be the last installment because we really don’t care about you.  But drop down in the comments and let me know your favorite recipe and I’ll give it a shot and write about my experience!