My Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip - Favorite Party Appetizer

Messy Messy Fail - I save all the gift bags we receive to reuse for another gift.  If you ever need a baby boy gift bag, come shop my collection.  If you can get to it, that is.  A giant pile in the basement corner that has crawled out of the original two plastic containers I started organizing them in.  Another thing to add to the list.

Tidy Victory - I wasn't feeling so hot today, but I was still able to sort out and organize under the sink and our old school medicine cabinet in the downstairs half bath.  I threw away so much expired medicine - mixed the pills in with coffee grinds of course - and old bottles of gunky nailpolish in hideous colors.  How did I ever wear those colors?!?!?!

A few weeks ago we went to a St. Patrick's Day party at a co-worker's house.  Fabulous party - they provide pizza and beverages, every guest brings a dish to pass.  I decided to bring one of my easiest go to appetizers - Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip!  Now of course, you can ONLY make this the right way and appreciate it fully when living in Western New York (wink wink).  

I originally received this recipe from my SIL, and with a few slight changes we made it our own.  This is such an EASY dip, so satisfying if you are into spicy things.  You can make it in a casserole dish or a little crock pot like mine.  By the way - this mini crock pot was given as a wedding shower gift from one of my husband's cousins.  It was not on my registry - stupid me - but BOY was I glad she had the smarts to know I would need and LOVE this thing.  Thanks Stacey!

Here's what you need:

2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese

2 cans of chicken (I always buy the big ones, the more cluck cluck the better)

8 oz. of a hot sauce of your choice

1/2 c. of ranch dressing

1/2 c. of blue cheese dressing (I happened to have chunky

6 (or a little more) oz. of grated cheddar

First things first - soften your 2 blocks of cream cheese.  If you are lucky like me, your microwave may have a "soften cream cheese" setting, at which point you turn that baby on.  If not, maybe zap your cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl for 20 seconds at a time until it's nice and soft (not liquid!).

I chose to use my crock pot for the party - would help to keep the dip warm throughout the night - so after your cream cheese is good to go, put that and 8 oz. of your chosen hot sauce into the crock pot.

Chicken time!  I've seen recipes where people use rotissiere chicken or boil a whole chicken on the stove top then pull it apart.  I can't be bothered messing with that, and I think it tastes better this way (maybe it's the sodium, who knows), but I use two large cans of chicken.  Pop the lids, drain, and use a couple of forks to break the meat up.

Dump the forked up chicken right into the pot and give it a good stir.  Next, please add a 1/2 cup of ranch dressing and a 1/2 cup of blue cheese dressing for even more flavor.

A few extra dashes of hot sauce won't hurt, either.  Stir, stir, stir! At this point, I like to put the lid on and turn my dip on low (or high if I am at a loss for time) to get everything melded together.

Finally, after a few good stirs and you have a beautiful bright orange dip bubbling away, I like to sprinkle 6 oz. or a little more of shredded cheddar on top for an added layer of gooeyness.

If you don't have a cute mini crock pot, you mix everything into a 9 x 13 casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until the dip is bubbling away.  Pull the dish out, sprinkle on the cheese, and put back in the oven until the cheese is melted.  

I like to serve this dip with some type of tortilla chip, preferably Tostitos Scoops to get lots of chicken.  My absolutely FAVORITE way to eat this dip, surprisingly enough, is cold!  I love taking any leftover dip from the fridge and digging right in.  

Always a hit at the party, the proof will be in the empty container.

I hope you enjoy my go to party appetizer, this is what Western New York taste's like!


Katie