Are you ready for some football?!
Even though this post is likely going to go through after the game is over, and in our house it was just a quiet evening at home watching the game by ourselves I figured I would get in the spirit of things and choose some game day traditional foods for my blog. What could be more synonymous with the Superbowl than Chili and Buffalo Chicken Wings?!
I am not a wings kind of gal, but have been wanting to try a buffalo chicken dip for quite some time now. There are many versions out there, but this one sounded great to me and I am so glad I chose it. I’d say it was PERFECT for us! So creamy, the flavors are just right and not too spicy, and so simple to make! I can easily see this one becoming my new go-to dip for gatherings. The recipe suggested serving it with some toasted baguette slices, but I have a cut in my mouth and didn’t want to deal with the sharp crusty bread. So along with my UN-toasted baquette slices I chose to serve it with some fritos as suggested by reviewers and felt they were great with it also. Myself, I think I prefer the baguette though.
Today I used low fat ranch, and would have also chosen to use low fat cream cheese if the store had not been completely sold out, and I feel that it didn’t take away from the flavor at all. I also decided to make my life easier, and my dish load less (or rather Jeff’s dish load) by just putting it all in the crockpot from the start. I let it cook on high for about an hour until all the cheeses were melted and then on low for another 50-60 minutes. Then switch it over to warm and dish out as much as you want to at a time. You might even want to have the recipe already typed out and copied onto cards to hand out because I guarantee you will be asked for this one by a lot of people!
Now for the chili….. I grew up eating chili soup, which is a brothy sort of chili with noodles and I love it. The only “real” chili we ever had was from a can on occasion, which I also enjoy. I have tried a couple of recipes myself since then, and though they were ok, I haven’t found one I love yet. This recipe wears the title “Award Winning”, which upon reading the notes I realized was just from some guy’s work cook-off , but I decided to give it a shot anyway because the ingredients listed sounded good to me. Mostly I was just excited to try out my new dutch oven lol.
I am sorry to say that I just thought it was ok as with all the rest…. however Jeff did give it 5 stars! I think it must be me…. maybe I prefer a more mellow chili flavor or a sweeter flavor. I will find one someday! Anyway, it really was good, and did remind me a lot of the canned chili with some added heat from the jalapeno and spices. The only change I made was to use half ground beef and half ground turkey per my husband’s request. It sure made my house smell good anyway!
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Serves : 20 Time to make : 20 minutes (2 hours if done in crockpot)
Ingredients :
-
- 2 (10 ounce) cans chicken
- 2 (8 ounce) packets cream cheese
- 3/4 cup hot sauce (I use Frank’s wing sauce)
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 2 cups mild cheddar cheese
- 2 loaves baguette
Directions :
- Drain chicken and put in a medium sauce pan.
- Add hot sauce and cook on medium until heated through.
- Add cream cheese and stir until blended through.
- Add ranch dressing and mix.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and heat for a few minutes longer until mixed and melted.
- Pour the dip into the crock pot and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Set to warm.
- Serve on baguette that has been sliced and toasted.
*If you want to just use the crockpot throw it all in together and heat for one hour on high, then 1 more hour on low. Switch to warm after that.
Award Winning Chili
Serves : 6 Time to make : 2 1/2 hours
Ingredients :
- 1 lb ground venison or 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1 (14 ounce) can Mexican style tomatoes (like Rotel)
- 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked if you can find it)
- 1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup water
Toppings :
- sour cream
- cheddar cheese
- green onion
Directions :
- Cook ground meat with onions and peppers in a dutch oven.
- Drain excess grease and add tomatoes, seasonings and water. Bring to a boil.
- Add beans, cover and simmer 1-2 hours.
- Serve with toppings.
