Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Sunday is my new favorite day of the week. It is my one and only day to relax and bake and take Kirby to the park. For the longest time I was working and having class everyday of the week with no days off. It finally got to me and I was able to get Sunday's off. I am now absolutely in love with this day. It also happens to be the only full day Shawn is in town...so win-win!

I just now got back from the "Book Loft" which is an amazing old book store in my neighborhood. It is surrounded with cobblestone and brick sidewalks and gardens. It has 32 rooms of books all arranged by genre. I spend hours in there. I was there searching for a children's book. For my American Sign Language class we have to choose a childrens story to sign. I cannot for the life of me think of one.

This makes me sad because I always loved to read. I remember having butterflies in my stomach as a kid on book fair days. Nerd? Yes. I chose "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" but I am not sure if this is the right choice...any suggestions?

On another note, I have been making up recipes like crazy. I have had so many ideas running around in my head I am kind of going crazy. Many are successful...at least according to my standards. Although my palate is not hard to please. Meaning, if anyone tries these....let me know what you think! :)

We all know I love buffalo chicken. I'm all about making it in less traditional ways. So I came up with this buffalo chicken stromboli made with a whole wheat crust. I loved this. It's a little spicy but I'm all about it.

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli
Dame Good

Makes 2  (8-12 in) strombolis

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix

Filling:
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup hot sauce (Franks Buffalo)
1 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup white onion, chopped
2 cups reduced fat cheese (provalone or mozzarella), shredded
4 ounces reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles
1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Crust:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let stand 5-10 minutes, or until foamy.

Stir the olive oil, honey and salt into the yeast mixture. Start to mix in all of the flour. When mostly mixed, transfer the dough to a mixer with a dough hook. Once mixed, sprinkle in the dry ranch mix.

Tip dough onto a floured surface and knead  until the ball is smooth and the seasoning is mixed in. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl. Spray the dough with cooking spray or roll around in oil so it is completely covered. Cover with a towel or saran wrap and let stand in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

When the dough is doubled, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into two even pieces. Form into a tight ball and let rise an additional 45 min-1 hour.

Filling:
While waiting for the dough to rise, season both sides of the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Spray an indoor or outdoor grill with cooking spray and set to medium heat. Once the grill is preheated, add the chicken breast and grill for 3-5 minutes on each side (it is okay if it is a little underdone as the chicken will cook more when being baked in the oven). Once the chicken is grilled, remove from grill and let cool on a plate for about 10 minutes.

Once the chicken has cooled, take two forks and shred the chicken to desired size. Add chicken to a large bowl. Add the hot sauce, celery, onions, blue cheese, and 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning to the bowl. Stir the mixture until everything is combined.

Stromboli:
When the dough is done rising, preheat the oven to 375F. Roll out one dough ball into a large rectangle (approximately 10-in by 14-in). You want it to be pretty thin, but not too thin that the filling will leak. Sprinkle the shredded cheese along the middle of the dough leaving a 1-in border along the edges. Layer 1/4 cup of ranch dressing along the shredded cheese. Take half of the chicken mixture and spread it atop of the cheese and ranch.

Taking a brush, apply the egg wash along the 1-inch border. Fold in the shorter ends over the filling. Take one of the long ends and fold it over to the other end. Use the egg was to seal al of the edges. and press each edge firmly together (for help rolling, google what a stromboli looks like). Put the stromboli, seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Take a fork and puncture the top of the stromboli a few times all over to allow steam to escape. Finish by brushing over the surface of the stromboli with the egg wash to give it a shine.

Repeat process with second dough ball.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until goldn brown. You will want to keep your eye on it and check every 10 minutes or so to make sure there is no leakage. If so, reseal and continue to bake.

Once removed from oven, allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut into desired size and serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.