Buffalo Cauliflower and Buffalo Chicken Bites

So I hate Buffalo Wings. For a long time I thought it was the sauce. And then I had Buffalo Chicken Dip. It wasn't the sauce. It was the wing. I don't see the point. Put the sauce on a normal piece of chicken and fine. But it is too much work and too much calories for that little bit of payday.

So lo and behold I found this recipe on Pinterest from my friend Nikki. It can be attributed back to Persnickety Plates.  I told D I was making this.  Then I thought that we probably should have some meat, so I picked up some chicken breasts to make into bites.  I actually made most of both recipes.

Make the Cauliflower first, so that you don't cross-contaminate with the chicken.

The outcome...we devoured everything, but I liked the cauliflower better.  It melted in my mouth.  D liked it. Since chicken is his favorite food, I didn't bother to ask him if he liked it better.  We definitely would have again.

Buffalo Cauliflower and Buffalo Chicken Bites

Photo by ALB

Serves: 2-4 as an appetizer (or 2 if you're eating it for dinner as a meal)

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
(1 lb of skinned, boneless chicken breast if you are doing chicken bites, too)

For the batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
dash of Frank's Wing Sauce (or Frank's Original Hot Sauce)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
(Make again if you are making Buffalo Chicken Bites)

For the buffalo sauce  (if you are making the Buffalo Chicken as well, double this part.)
1/4 cup Frank's Wing Sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons salted butter, melted (this was originally 3 but I lowered it)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray, and set aside.

Wash your head of cauliflower and cut into pieces.

In a medium bowl, mix together the batter ingredients. It will be fairly thick.

Dip each piece of cauliflower into the batter until fully and evenly coated. Place onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the batter just hardens.

Prep the chicken the exact same way (you only need to cook for 8 minutes)

In a small bowl, mix together the buffalo sauce ingredients.

Once the cauliflower are done, remove from the oven and brush with the buffalo sauce. Again, fully and evenly coat each piece.  (D and I dipped the cauliflower).

Put back into the oven and bake for 7 more minutes, until the sauce has mostly dried and the cauliflower is crispy. (We poured the remaining sauce all over the chicken and stuck it back in, about 5 minutes).

Remove from the oven, let cool, then enjoy!

Nutritional Information from My Fitness Pal
Servings 2
Buffalo Cauliflower
Calories: 249; Carbs: 38; Fat: 9; Protein: 9; Sodium: 1156; Fiber: 10

Buffalo Chicken Bites
Calories: 416; Carbs: 22; Fat: 11; Protein: 55; Sodium: 1444; Fiber: 3