Happy Cinco de Mayo

Bring on the homemade margs and celebrate this awesomely fun made-up holiday :)

ole!

Inspiration: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 /

Recipe Wednesday: Buffalo Chicken Bites

Buffalo Chicken Bites

Buffalo Chicken Dip (and the many, many variations of it) is one of my very favorite things to bring to parties and holidays.  Over the past few years, it has become increasingly popular as more people have realized how delicious it is, and more importantly, how easy it is to make.  Over the past few months, J and I have tried to switch things up at parties and bring a variation on the traditional BCD baked dip + tortilla chips. I absolutely love spicy things, but many people are sensitive to the amount of spice that I can tolerate. I think that the crispy nature of the tortilla chip actually tends to accentuate the spice in the dip.  In this variation, wrapping the dip in a Pillsbury Roll and baking it tends to mellow out the spice and really add a sweet twist to the regular version of this appetizer.  Try this recipe for yourself- I dare you to eat just one!


Buffalo Chicken Bites

Ingredients:
2    Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2    Sticks cream cheese
1.5 C Ranch Dressing*
1    C Hot Sauce
1    Pkg ranch seasoning
1    Pkg sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2    Pkgs Pillsbury Flaky Grands Biscuits or Croissant Rolls
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Marinade the chicken breasts in olive oil for a half hour in the refrigerator.  Slowly pan fry the chicken breasts over medium-to low heat, flipping occasionally to cook thoroughly (15-20 minutes).
   
2. Once chicken is cooked, remove from pan and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Once cooled, shred chicken into bite-size pieces.  Place pieces in Ziploc bag and add enough hot sauce to allow the chicken to appear pink in color.  Let the chicken absorb the flavor for 20-30 minutes.
   
3. On the stovetop, spray a medium-sized sauce pot with cooking spray.  Place both sticks of cream cheese in the pan, and slowly melt over low-medium heat, stirring constantly. Add 3/4 C of the ranch dressing to the cream cheese once it begins to melt. Continue stirring this mixture until it is no longer lumpy.
   
4. Add 1/2 of the package of ranch seasoning to this mixture.  Continue stirring for 2-3 minutes.
   
5. Pour the hot sauce into the sauce pan, mix until uniform in color.  The amount of hot sauce that you use varies depending on how spicy you would like your dip.  A dip that is less salmon in color will be less spicy.
   
6. Add 1 C of sharp cheddar cheese into this mixture and stir over low heat until fully melted (7-10 minutes).  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
   
7. Next, stir hot sauce-marinated chicken into the melted cheese dip.  The dip should be quite lumpy.  This is good.  Remove dip from heat, stirring it every few minutes to ensure that it has not bunt on the bottom of the pan.
   
8. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Open both packages of biscuits and space them out on the cookie sheet(s). Place a small scoop of the dip on the inside of each roll. Re-assemble the rolls as directed on the outside of the Pillsbury packaging.
   
9. Brush a small amount of hot sauce on the top of each roll, and sprinkle about a teaspoon of the remaining sharp cheddar cheese on the top of each roll.  Bake dip and rolls according to the directions on the package of the rolls that you have chosen to use.

Allow rolls to slighty cool before enjoying- cheese stuffed inside will be hot! (Read: don't burn the roof of your mouth.)  Enjoy!

*If you would like to make buffalo chicken dip without the rolls, omit the ranch seasoning and add the full amount of Ranch dressing that is recommended in the recipe. Place the dip in a casserole dish, cover with the remaining shredded cheese, and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.


Cheese and cheers,

Love is in the Air

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day, whether you spent it with your significant other, your friends, or yourself.

"Later that day, I got to thinking about relationships.  There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, and those that bring you to somewhere unexpected.  The most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of them all is the one that you have with yourself.  And if you can find someone to love the you that you love, well, that's just fabulous."  [sex and the city]

Snowed In. (Sort of...)

old doors have quite a bit of character, wouldn't you say?

I have been sick and home from work for the past few days (bummer).  Although I have not moved too far from my couch or bed, I was able to take a few minutes to enjoy, at least, looking at the snow that we got in Pittsburgh over the past few days.  Somehow, staring out the window became way more interesting than hearing the same news stories over and over again on daytime TV. Although every once in a while, its nice to have time to rest, I am definitely thankful that my days do not consist of TLC and Lifetime (not that they ever, ever will!) In the few hours that I was awake while trying to recover from this nasty fever/flu, I managed to successfully creep myself out over the many noises this fifty sixty-one year old house makes when the wind blows.  I swear to you that I have never heard some of the nosies before- but they are just the wind, ok? Ok. Regardless of the creepy noises, a midwinter snowstorm is always welcome, especially when you aren't able to go anywhere.  Tomorrow hopefully it will be back to the grind for this girl, sans my three-day 100 degree + temperature.

ps... Honeysuckle is the color of 2011 :) eep!

Christmastime Is Here

Confession: I begin listening to Christmas music once the months start ending in ‘-ber.’ I don’t even try to justify it. One of my favorite Christmas songs ever is “Christmastime Is Here” from the beloved classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. What could be better than that little, dinky-looking tree to get you into the holiday spirit? Christmastime is here, we’ll be drawing near. Oh that we, could always see, such spirit through the year…

Charlie. (source)

All that being said, I thought I would share a few pieces of Christmas from my house, as well as my not-so-top-secret-to-die-for Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that J says that I’m not allowed to share with the world because someone other than me would be able to make the best chocolate chip cookies that ever existed. Toot! Toot! ( <- that was my own horn) You’re welcome.