BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

I have to say, yesterday night was a great success. The Giants won the Super Bowl, the PSEF watch party I was at was a fun time, and the buffalo chicken dip that I made for it turned out pretty well. The recipe that I made tonight was a variation from what I had tried earlier in the week (the blue cheese dressing I used last time was way too overpowering). I also used a different layering technique in order to blend the melted cheese together better.

Right out of the oven and piping hot.

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP
Makes enough to fit a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish

~ 3 chicken breasts
~ 2 packages of 8 oz. cream cheese
~ 1 cup Ranch dressing
~ 3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo sauce
~ 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a blend of Monterey Jack and mild cheddar)

First, fill a pot up to a little over halfway with water and get it boiling on the stove. Take the chicken breasts and cut them horizontally into thinner pieces, as this will help to cook them more thoroughly. Once the water is boiling, drop the chicken breast pieces in there and boil them for 20 minutes. Once that’s done, take them out and set them aside for about 2 – 3 minutes to let them cool, as this will let you shred them apart a little easier. Now, preheat the oven to 350 degrees while we prepare the rest of the dip.

Take two forks and have at it with the chicken breasts, separating them into strands and chunks in preparation to incorporate them into the dip. Once that’s all done, take your buffalo sauce and mix it in with the shredded chicken until all of it is well covered. Set that aside, and take out the cream cheese and Ranch dressing. Throw the two packs of cream cheese into a bowl and soften them in the microwave (I used about 15 seconds on high). Once those come out, put them into a mixing bowl and add in the Ranch dressing, stirring everything together until it is well blended and smooth. (On a side note, don’t worry if it looks like the cream cheese is still clumpy when you mix it up.  The baking will certainly take care of that.)

Set out your 9″ x 13″ casserole dish and we can begin to start layering things up. Spread the cream cheese / Ranch mixture all over the bottom of the dish until it’s nice and even. Sprinkle a good layer of the shredded cheese on top of that, and then add the sauced-up chicken on top. Finish it off with a light layer of shredded cheese, and then you are set to put it into the oven for about 20 minutes.

Categories: Fast Bites, Recipes

Tagged as: buffalo chicken dip, fast bites, PSEF, super bowl