Buffalo Chicken Dip

Last year I had this dip at a football party I had attended and I fell in love.  Shortly after the recipe popped up in a blog I follow and I saved it for future reference.  I just copied and pasted the instructions from the blog, and my notes are in the parenthesis.

It's safe to say that this dish is not diet friendly, but I guarantee that it will make your taste buds dance (that is if you're a fan of hot wings). 

I made it myself for the first time yesterday for a Christmas Party I attended last night and it was a huge hit, it filled a 9x13 pyrex pan, and by the end of the evening only a small portion remained.

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless cooked chicken breasts shredded or diced (I used Swanson's canned chicken, it's like tuna, and it worked out great, 2 large cans, 1 small)
• 2/3 bottle of FRANK’S BUFFALO WING SAUCE
• 2 bars of cream cheese (softened)
• 1 16 oz. bottle of blue cheese dressing (I used Bob's Big Boy bottled dressing, it was delicious)
• 3-4 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used a mixed bag of cheddar/monterey jack because I couldn't find pre-shredded Monterey Jack at the store I was at and didn't want to go to another store)
• Tortilla Chips for dipping (Tostitos Cantina Chips are my favorite dipping choice)

Directions:

• First, layer the chicken and Franks Buffalo Wing sauce in the bottom of a 13″ by 9″ pan.  
• Mix together the cream cheese, blue cheese dressing and 2-3 cups of the Monterey Jack cheese. (SAVE THE REST OF THE SHREDDED CHEESE FOR THE TOP) 
• Spread over the chicken.  
• Put remaining shredded cheese on the top.
• Bake at 350 for approx. 1/2 hour. It is good hot ,or warm!

Another awesome dinner in the books

This was Pampered Chef inspired, but I'm not sure that I stuck to the recipe. I didn't have it handy and didn't want to look it up.

Ingredients:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I had some cutlets leftover from the last time I cooked chicken so they were perfect)
• Olive Oil
• Pampered Chef Sweet Basil Rub (this stuff is amazing)
• Tomatoes (I sliced up about a dozen cherry tomatoes)
• Garlic (I used 5 cloves)
• Fresh Basil
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Box of Penne Pasta (it was way too much for the amount of chicken/tomatoes I had 1/2 a box would have been better)

Directions:

While a large pot of water was heating up to boil I seasoned the chicken with the rub and olive oil, then set it aside to mini marinate while I chopped up the garlic and tomatoes. 

Sprayed my frying pan down with a light coating of Pam then tossed in the seasoned cutlets. 

Once the chicken was about halfway cooked I put the pasta in the pot of water and also added a little garlic to cook with the noodles. 

Back to the chicken. When it was mostly cooked I added in the tomatoes and garlic and stirred in the pan frequently. As the meat was starting to brown I tore strips of the basil leaves and cooked along with the other ingredients. 

By the time the pasta was cooked (al dente) the chicken mixture was ready to be added in. 

Sprinkle Parmesan to taste and serve up.

Chicken & Veggies

I'd like to think of a fancy name for this eventually, maybe you know one if you look at the ingredients, but for now I'm going with Chicken & Veggies.  I don't really measure with this, so go with your gut and taste buds


• Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast
• Olive Oil
• Fresh Garlic
• Zucchini
• Yellow Squash
• Yellow Onion
• Roma Tomatoes (seeded)
• Sun dried Tomato Pesto
• Pampered Chef Sweet Basil Rub
• Salt (optional)
• Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese (optional)

I started by heating up my frying pan with olive oil and a chopped clove of garlic.

I coated the top side of the chicken with the basil rub then chopped it into slightly larger than bite-sized pieces so that they would cook faster than if I left it intact and tossed it in the frying pan with 1/2 of the onion I chopped.

Chopped the rest of the garlic (I used like 5-6 cloves, but I love garlic, so use as much as you're comfortable with), the zucchini, squash, and put a heaping amount of the sun dried tomato pesto in a large bowl and mixed them all together with a little (very little) salt then tossed everything in the pan. I stirred fairly frequently, and when I noticed that stuff was starting to stick a little I added more olive oil. Just before it was finished cooking, I added in the tomatoes, then turned down the heat and let everything simmer for a few minutes.

Once it was all cooked I put in a large serving dish and sprinkled the top with cheddar and let it sit 2-3 minutes to let the cheese melt a bit and for it to set up.

I've made this before without the chicken and it was just as delicious, but it wasn't filling, so without the protein, it would be an excellent side dish, but didn't work (for me) as a meal.

Cream of Mushroom Chicken

My BFF gave me this recipe years ago and it is always a hit... even with people who claim to not like the ingredients. I've served it up to plenty of picky eaters and everyone wants to go back for seconds. It's an amazingly easy recipe and everything cooks up really fast.

Cream of Mushroom Chicken

 

Ingredients:

§  1 can cream of mushroom soup per chicken breast

§  Boneless skinless chicken breasts

§  Chopped pecans (optional)

§  Diced onion

§  Minced garlic

§  Olive oil

 

1.     Cook chicken in skillet with olive oil until tender, then set aside

2.     Cook onions, and garlic in same pan for a few minutes then add cream of mushroom soup

3.     Add chicken and pecans, simmer for 10 minutes

4.     Serve over rice or pasta

Green Enchiladas

I found part of this recipe online and made it my own from there. It isn't what anyone would call "authentic" Mexican food, but it's still delicious. I'm sure you could make homemade green sauce and it would be even better, but for me the canned stuff works just fine.

Lo’s Green Enchiladas

Ingredients (all ingredients are to taste and are subject to the amount of enchiladas you are planning on making):

§  Olive Oil

§  Yellow Onions (at least 2 small ones, more if desired)

§  Garlic Flakes

§  Chicken Broth (enough to cover the chicken completely when boiling, would estimate a minimum of 2 boxes, can add water to chicken broth if you do not have enough)

§  Chopped boneless skinless chicken breasts (the smaller the pieces the faster they will cook and will be easier to mix in the stuffing mixture, I prefer to use roughly bite sized pieces)

§  Minced garlic

§  Ortega Green Chilies, diced

§  Large Can of Las Palmas green sauce

§  Flour Tortillas

§  Sour Cream

§  Shredded Mexican Cheese Mix

§  Black Olives

 

1.              Drizzle oil in the bottom of a deep pot, add in half of your onions coarsely chopped and garlic flakes, cook until onions start to brown.

2.              Pour in chicken broth and bring to boil

3.              Add in raw chicken breasts and boil until tender stirring occasionally, add spoonful of minced garlic just as chicken is close to cooked.

4.              Dice remaining onions while chicken is cooking

5.              After chicken is cooked strain and allow to cool

6.              In a large bowl mix sour cream, cheese, olives, diced onions, and cooled chicken.

7.              Spoon chicken mixture into center of flour tortillas and wrap up and place in 9 x 13 baking dish

8.              Once dish is full pour green sauce over until each tortilla is covered.

9.              Cover with cheese and green olives

10.         Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This one is another family favorite/comfort food type recipe. It's delicious on a cold winter day or in the middle of summer when you can add fresh guacamole to the soup.

Chicken, Green Chili, Lime Tortilla Soup

 

Ingredients

§  1 pound cooked chicken cut into cubes

§  1 tablespoons oil

§  1 medium onion, chopped

§  2 cloves garlic, minced

§  4 ounce can chopped green chili

§  1 can (15 ounces) chopped Italian tomatoes

§  4 cups chicken broth

§  1 teaspoon lime juice

§  1 teaspoon chili powder

§  1 teaspoon ground cumin

§  1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

§  1 cup chopped carrots

§  1 can (15 ounce) hominy

§  1 zucchini chopped

§  Fresh or Bagged tortilla chips

§  Jack or Cheddar grated cheese

§  Salsa (optional)

§  Guacamole (optional)

§  Sour Cream (optional)

 

1.     Brown onion and garlic in oil

2.     Add tomatoes, spices, chili, and broth

3.     Bring to a boil

4.     Add carrots and simmer for 30 minutes

5.     Add hominy and zucchini

6.     Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes

7.     Add cooked chicken and simmer until chicken is heated through

 

Serve over tortilla chips and top with grated cheese and optional ingredients if desired.

** I've also had friends make this vegetarian style by leaving out the chicken and using vegetable broth instead of chicken, I've heard it's just as delicious.