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Fast food! Buffalo chicken pizza and enchiladas

Chef Sam Zien shares his recipes that are big on taste but easy on time

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  Buffalo chicken pizza, enchiladas
April 3: Want some fast food that is full of flavor? Chef Sam Zien reveals his two delicious meals that take no time in the kitchen.

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updated 12:48 p.m. ET April 3, 2008

Chef Sam Zien says delicious meals shouldn't be difficult to make just big on taste and seriously easy. Which is why he's sharing his recipes for Buffalo chicken pizza and chicken enchiladas. These dishes are fast to make and full of flavor so try them at home!

Buffalo chicken pizza
Sam Zien

Makes one 12-inch pizza

Confused? Don’t be. This is all the great taste of those spicy little chicken wings, except in a pizza — and no bones to deal with.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) butter
4 tablespoons hot sauce (not like Tabasco but more a Louisiana-style “Frank’s” is good)
21⁄2 cups shredded cooked chicken (from a precooked deli chicken)
1⁄2 cup blue cheese salad dressing any kind, but the chunkier, the better
One 12-inch ready-made pizza crust, like Boboli
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. In a small pot, melt the butter with the hot sauce, stir well, and remove from the heat. Add the chicken and mix well. Spread the blue cheese dressing on the pizza crust, then top with the chicken mixture. (Don’t worry if it’s messy, because it will be). Top with the mozzarella. Bake until bubbly, brown, and awesome looking, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro, cut into wedges, and serve.

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Chicken enchiladas
Sam Zien

Serves 8

This thing comes out of the oven all bubbly and beautiful, with the cream and cheese having magically made their own amazing sauce. Trust me, you’re going to want to eat these all yourself — but don’t. That would be a big mistake.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (from a precooked deli-roasted chicken)
1 cup store-bought salsa verde (green salsa)
One 4-ounce can diced green chiles
2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup chicken broth
8 flour tortillas, fajita size (about 8 inches in diameter)
11⁄2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Fresh cilantro, chopped fine for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a bowl, mix the chicken, salsa, green chiles, and chipotles together well. Pour half of the cream into the bottom of a 9 x 13–inch baking dish. Pour the chicken broth into a wide bowl and submerge a flour tortilla until well moistened, about 30 seconds. Remove and place about 1⁄8 of the chicken mixture in the middle of the tortilla, roll it up like a cigar, and place it, seam side down, on the cream in the baking dish. Repeat until all the tortillas are filled and side by side in the dish. Spread the cheese over the enchiladas and pour the remaining 1 cup cream over the top. Bake until starting to brown nicely, about 30 minutes, and serve with a little cilantro.

TIPS

Chef's note: Sometimes we, I mean I, will make 2 pans, cook them both, and then eat one pan and freeze one for another day.

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About the chef: Sam Zien is creator and host of Discovery Health Channel's show, "Sam the Cooking Guy." The chef is also the author of "Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes." For more on Sam and his recipes, visit his Web site Sam the Cooking Guy.

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