Raise your hand if you love buffalo chicken wings.  I’m right along with you.  The spicy, tangy sauce is SO good.  However, if you look at how much sodium is in these recipes, it’ll make your blood pressure go up just thinking about them.  Then I ran across a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens for Buffalo Chicken and Rice.  Chicken and rice with an extra zesty kick.  Reading through this recipe I found it had some inspiration from the buffalo wing recipe, but lacked what I would say any buffalo chicken.  Tomato sauce and chicken broth with a chili and vinegar.  Hmmmm….  I think we can make this really taste more authentic.  I also say ditch the ranch dressing mix.  That has sky high sodium and I believe this is necessary.  There’s already a good amount of cream cheese, which I will keep.  The trick is to keep the sodium lower and to add a bit of veg to round out the macros.  I’m not going to post the original recipe stats here.  I’m going to redo this recipe in full.  Here’s the recipe I developed that makes a better version of Buffalo Chicken and Rice.

Here are the stats:

• 259 Calories
• 15g Fat
• 1061mg Cholesterol
• 731mg Sodium
• 389mg Potassium
• 9g Carbohydrates
• 21g Protein
• 114% Vitamin A
• 93% Vitamin C
• 5% Calcium
• 4% Iron

You may be thinking that this one has quite a bit of sodium.  You are right.  This one was more difficult to lower due to the hot sauce.  However, it is much lower than the original recipe by half.

Buffalo Chicken and Rice – Your Level Best Style

Serves 6

• 3 green onions
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup very thinly sliced carrots (2 medium)
• 1 cup celery cut into 1/4-inch pieces (2 stalks)
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup Frank’s red hot sauce
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. Thinly slice green onions, separating white and green parts; set aside. In a slow cooker combine chicken, carrots, celery, the white parts of green onions, red bell pepper, butter, vinegar,  Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, and the hot sauce.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 hours.
3. Stir in cream cheese and the green parts of green onions. Cover and cook for 30 minutes longer.
4. Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice.