Recipe Time: Superbowl Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

With Superbowl this Sunday, everybody is looking for EASY recipes to make for their parties.  This recipe for Buffalo Chicken Stromboli is not only super easy, but it is quick to make as well.  I created this recipe a few years ago (however, it is super simple, so I am sure plenty of people have created the same one) and it is still always a favorite at parties.  To take it to the Superbowl level, I attempted to make it look like a football.

Now I will admit again that I am a fan of quick and easy, so I mostly use already prepared ingredients, but if you are a great chef or just want to take your Stromboli to the next level, it is pretty easy to swap out my simple ingredients for fresh ones.

Ingredients:

• Pizza Dough (again, you can use the premade stuff like I did or make your own)
• Chicken Breast (I just chop up some of Perdue's Short Cuts Carved Chicken Breast)
• Frank's Red Hot (or your favorite buffalo sauce)
• Shredded Cheese (we like to use the Mexican Blend to just give it a little more flavor)
• One egg 

Directions:

1. To start off, I preheat the oven according to the directions on the pizza dough.  The brand I buy cooks at 425°F.

2. Next, I cut those strips of Chicken Breast into small, bite-size pieces. 

Side note: If you really look at this picture, you can see my dog begging for some chicken :)

3. This is a "secret" step that I think is the key to our Buffalo Chicken Stromboli tasting so good, but it may also be an unnecessary step - I'm really not sure to be honest.  We like to cut up our Chicken Breast and cook it in the Buffalo Sauce first.  I use a slow cooker and just let it sit in the warm sauce for usually at least a half hour; sometimes I marinate the chicken in the buffalo for a day or so in advance.  This really gets that buffalo flavor into the chicken (I think!).  I don't really measure the sauce, I just make sure the chicken is fully coated in buffalo.

4. After the chicken has had a chance to soak up some of that buffalo, I get the dough ready.  Normally, I buy the square one and make a stromboli roll, but in order to try to shape this like a football, I bought the round dough.

5.  Once the dough is ready on your baking sheet, cover half of it in cheese.  Again, I don't really measure, I just make sure it is covered.  Note that I left the edges empty so that I can get a nice seal on the dough.

6.  Now you just cover that cheese with the buffalo chicken.

7.  And we are big fans of cheese in my house, so we put some more cheese on top.

8.  This is where I ran into some difficulty... the football shape part.  You just start by folding the empty half of the dough over the other half and squish the sides so that they hold nicely.  Then, I just kind of pushed it around until it kind of looked like a football - sort of.

9.  To really make it look like a football, I took a Wusthof Ikon 3.5" Paring Knife and used it to cut the stitching into the top of the dough.

10.  Next, I whisk that egg up and brush it on top of the dough.

11. Now I just put the stromboli in the oven and follow the directions on the package for the dough (since the chicken is already cooked).  This dough only needs about 12 minutes. 

12.  Take your stromboli out of the oven once the top has gotten a nice golden brown color. 

13. Serve on a cutting board with a bread knife.  A great side for this is Ranch Dip or Bleu Cheese Dressing.

14.  And obviously, the best part - EAT IT!!!

Happy Superbowl Weekend!  Hope you enjoy your Superbowl Buffalo Chicken Stromboli!