Most families have a hell day. Each kid is going in a different direction, and dinner isn’t going to be a sit-down meal…unless everyone’s willing to eat late and tolerate cranky kids.
But if you pack a cooler with these appetizer-inspired sandwiches, dinner can be enjoyed on the sidelines (call it a tailgate picnic) while you cheer on the soccer, field hockey or lacrosse team.
Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Pitas
Serves: 4
Prep and assembly time: 15 minutes
- 3 cups cooked and cooled chicken (about 1/2 a leftover rotisserie chicken)
- 2 to 3 tsp. hot sauce (Tabasco or Cholula)
- 4 cups lettuce, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, sliced
- 2 tbsp. bottled ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 4 pitas with pockets
Directions
1. Shred or chop the chicken, and add half the hot sauce. Taste before adding more. You know how hot your family likes their food and this recipe can accommodate mild to fiery.
2. Toss ranch dressing with the celery and lettuce.
3. Stuff chicken and salad into pita halves. Top with blue cheese crumbles.
Complete the menu: Also very portable: Summer Raspberry Blondies. And if you’re tailgating in your backyard, not at the school fields, try Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber. It’s a Wisconsin beer, perfect for this play on Buffalo Chicken Wings.
Make it vegetarian: Instead of chicken, substitute SoyBoy Smoked Tofu, which you can find at Whole Foods.
Shopping List
- Rotisserie chicken (left over is fine)
- 1 head lettuce (romaine or ice burg)
- 1 bunch celery
- Hot sauce
- Ranch dressing
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Pita bread
