It started out innocently enough. Our daughters wanted to surprise Honey with a birthday party. It was all set - going to be at my Sistagirl's house. How we kept it a secret is beyond me, cause neither one of us knows how to be discrete.
While planning the food (cause there's always food), Sistagirl told me she was going to make this buffalo chicken dip she had the recipe for. Ok, I thought. I'm not overly crazy about buffalo wings, but hey I'm all about some dip.
Fast forward to the party. Honey was surprised, not overly happy at first, but surprised. Of course, knowing me - first thing I do is dive head first into the dip. Oh. My. Gosh!!! Holy mother of all things fuzzy and fluffy - I was instantly in love. It was so freaking good. I couldn't quit eating it. I growled at someone (might have been one of the twins) when there was just a spoonful left. I brought the spoonful home and ate it the next morning for breakfast muttering something about "my precious".
Sistagirl finally told me that it was super easy to make. It was even a dip mix. All you had to do is mix the stuff together, pop it in the oven, and out comes the cheesy gooey spicy goodness. A mix?? that's it?? How much more wonderful could this dip get??? And then the search began...
This town has more banks, restaurants, and churches than you can shake a stick at. There are five groceries stores and two Supercenters. Did any of these have the mix??? NNNNOOOOO!!!!! I know - cause I visited every single one of them on a rainy dreary Saturday morning. After calling my Sistagirl and giving her a good talking to. I mean, seriously, how can she get me hooked on something I can't purchase for myself??? She finally calms me down and tells me that I can find all kinds of recipes on Pinterest for the dip.
AAARrrrruuuuuppppp???? Pinterest you say??? Pinterest will be the death of me. It sucks me in until the battery dies on whatever device I'm using. So I'm off to Pinterest world, actually searching for something this time. After reading thru 50 gazillon recipes, I settle on one that sounds pretty good.
Gather all of the ingredients, go to take a picture (cause you gotta have pictures on your blog to engage the readers - sorry) the battery is dead. Nevermind, I don't have time to document, I've got to get this recipe pulled together and in the oven!!! First step - melt cream cheese and dressing on stove top. Whhhhaaaaaaatttt????? No, no, no - that just takes too long. Microwave here we come. Recipe said to layer the cream cheese and chicken layer. Nope - just mix it all together and dump it in the baking dish. Trust me, we're not going for looks here. 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. REALLY??? Nope, ain't got time for that - hit the convection button.
20 minutes later - my cheesy gooey spicy goodness is all browned and bubbly. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to talk tomorrow. It's kinda doubtful right now. No, I didn't wait for it to cool. Didn't know the entire roof of my mouth would burn off. But it was all worth the wait and trouble. I officially have a new obsession. Give me a pan of this dip while watching Walking Dead and I'm a happy happy girl!!!
Here's the recipe I found:
3 cans of white chicken (or use your own boiled chicken)
1/4 cup of Frank's hot sauce
1 cup ranch dressing (or Blue Cheese - I used buttermilk ranch)
1 8oz block of cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
In a large bowl, mix dressing and cream together. Microwave on low power and stir often until cream cheese is melted. Add chicken, hot sauce, and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Mix well. Spoon into 8x13 baking dish. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. (or less if you have the beloved convection button). Enjoy with fritos, crackers, just about anything I suppose. The recipe even suggested celery. This may be the only way to get me to eat celery....
