I have to be honest… I swore off buffalo-flavored everything for a long time. I just didn’t think I liked it and therefore avoided it at all costs. Boy, was I missing out. About a year ago I tried buffalo chicken dip for the first time and fell in love. It was like my world was changed. This football season, it wasn’t a Sunday for us unless we had “buff chick dip” in the oven. Needless to say, we love Sunday’s a little less now that the Packers aren’t moving forward to Superbowl 50, but our infatuation with buffalo chicken hasn’t gone anywhere.

Sunday is usually my “new recipe” day where I like to try something different. This was the perfect recipe to try. It reminded us of our football glory days (a week seems so long ago), but was a filling entree alternative. Below is my variation on a Pinterest recipe that came across my newsfeed at the perfect time.

What you’ll need? 

1 (pack) manicotti shells

1 (15 oz) container of ricotta cheese

1 pack of shredded cheddar cheese

1 bottle (5 oz) Frank’s Red Hot

1 lb ground chicken

salt & pepper to taste

It’s that simple!

What you do? 

Boil the manicotti shells for about 7 minutes in salted water (you’ll want them al dente so it’s easier to fill them)

Cook up the ground chicken in an olive oil coated pan

Mix the ricotta cheese, hot sauce and salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl, being sure to absorb as much of the liquid from the ricotta cheese as you can with a paper towel or cheese cloth

Add the chicken to your ricotta mixture and set in the fridge (chill the mixture for 20 minutes)

Fill the manicotti tubes with your mixture (I’m Italian so I just dove in their with my hands, but you can do it was a piping bag if you want to be fancy)

Lay them on a greased baking dish and cover with cheddar cheese

Bake for 15 minutes on 375

I promise it’ll be a hit! The whole thing takes less than an hour to make. The hardest part is waiting for the mixture to chill in the fridge. With just a few ingredients and a little time you have the most delicious comfort food on planet earth.