Baked Buffalo Chicken Burger with Blue Cheese Dressing

I'm not going to lie to you... the first time I read a recipe that required ground chicken, I was a little grossed out.  And then I touched it, and felt worse about it.  It's squishier than ground turkey or beef, and all I kept picturing was raw chicken going through a meat grinder.

BLECH.

Then I cooked it and OHMYLICOUS it was great.  Juicy and tender.  I started searching for anything that I could make with ground chicken.  Most of what I was finding was chicken burgers.  I love burgers and I had a new-found love of ground chicken, so this seemed like the obvious answer.  One of my husband's and my favorites are Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Blue Cheese Dressing that I found from Spiced Blog.  Rachel and I changed the recipe only just slightly!  We used whole grain sandwich thins as our buns for dinner, and for leftovers the next day, I just used lettuce!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Burgers

Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Total time:  35-40 mintes
Yield:  6 burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced (I keep mine diced and frozen in a bag in the freezer, so I used about a 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Instructions:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients and gently mix until well incorporated.  Be careful not to overwork the meat, as that make the burgers tough after cooking.  Prep a baking sheet with a sheet of tin foil sprayed with cooking spray (we used coconut oil spray).  Divide the meat into 6 equal parts and carefully mold each part into a patty.  Space the patties equally on the prepared baking sheet.  I like to press my thumb just slightly into the center of the burger.  It helps the burger keep it's shape while cooking!  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

**If you would like to grill these babies, they only take about 5 minutes on each side!  DON'T press down on them with your spatula though!**


Blue Cheese Dressing

Prep time:  5 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I wanted SO BAD to try substituting an avocado in here... but mine wasn't ripe yet!)
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Mix together in a small bowl and enjoy on top of your burger or as a dip!