Recipe #96 - Chicken Artichoke Dip

_______________________________________________________________________________

In a mixing bowl stir together the sour cream, milk, mayonnaise or salad dressing, lime juice, dried oregano, and salt.

Stir in the finely chopped chicken, avocado, tomato, onion, and jalapeno (optional). Stir until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Cover and chill until serving time.

If desired, garnish the dip with avocado slices. Serve with tortilla chips.

This was really tasty and easy to make if you needed to quickly whip some thing up for a party. The longest part is chopping up all the veggies (but the food processor is pretty handy with recipes like this).

Rating: 7
Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 10 (as an appetizer dip)
Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken, finely chopped (about 3 cups)
3 medium ripe avocados, seeded, peeled and chopped
3 small tomatos, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup onion, chopped
6 tablespoons pickled jalapeno peppers, rinsed and chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup dairy sour cream
3/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
6 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
avocado slices (optional)
tortilla chips

Recipe #80 - Super Bowl Snacks: Hot Bacon-Blue Cheese Dip

_______________________________________________________________________________

I originally bought the ingredients to this recipe for a football game. A kinda of tail gating dip if you will. However, I got behind so I made it as an appetizer for one of my entrees.

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over moderate over moderate heat till almost crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble coarsely. 

Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet, add the onion, and stir 3 minutes. 

Add the flour and stir 3 minutes longer. Whisking, add the milk and beer, then add the Worcestershire and cayenne. Bring mixture to a low boil, whisking, cook for 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. 

Add the bacon and blue cheese and stir till the cheese is melted. 

Transfer the dip to a small bowl and serve with pita chips or bread sticks. 

Now I'm not the biggest blue cheese fan (unless it's in an olive). Teresa was the one that convinced me to make this recipe. I couldn't get over how overwhelming the taste of the blue cheese was. I couldn't even get past the second chip, so I'm not the the best to one to judge this recipe. However, everyone else inhaled it. For me the only redeeming quality was the bacon!

Rating: I would say 3, but the blue cheese lovers would say a lot higher. 

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

6 thick slices lean smoked bacon

1 small onion, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup lager beer

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Cayenne pepper to taster

1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled

Your favorite breadsticks

Recipe #40 - Buffalo-Ranch Chicken Dip (aka Mich's Dip)

_______________________________________________________________________________

Every time my girlfriends and I get together Michelle has made it a tradition to make this Buffalo-Ranch Chicken Dip. I'm not sure exactly how she came across the recipe, but I'm sure glad she did. The second it comes out of the oven the nine of us gather around the table, chips already in hand. It literally doesn't last 10 minutes in our midst. It's one of my favorite parts of our reunions. 

So I choose to make it for my family this 4th of July. Mainly because I can't wait till the end of July for our next union to have some of this delicous dip. When I was finished, I posted a picture of the end result on Facebook and it turned out that three of the other girls made this recipe for their friends and family on the 4th of July as well. It really is just too good not to share with everyone!

So, there are two different ways to go about putting together this recipe: some people mix all the ingredient up in a large bowl and let it melt together, others (like myself) prefer to layer.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 9x12 cooking pan, coat the bottom with the cream cheese. This works best if at room temperature.

Removing the skin in the process, shred the chicken in small bite size pieces. Then place in a medium size bowl.

Mix in the buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to absorb the flavors.

Spread chicken over the cream cheese.

Finally, sprinkle the cheddar cheese then the mozzarella cheese over the chicken mixture. Then place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

The amazingness is ready for your mouth! Serve out some onto a plate or (like us dainty girls do) eat straight from the dish. Enjoy with some tasty tortilla chips or celery.

This is one of the most addicting dishes you will ever taste. I can promise you that!

Rating: 10

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 traditional rotisserie chicken

1 cup buffalo wing sauce (I use Pete's Buffalo Wing Sauce)

1/2 cup ranch dressing

2 - 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese 

3 cups cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese