Buffalo Chicken Dip

Did you make that guacamole yet? If not, I have another dip that might send you over the edge. 

Three words - Buffalo Chicken Dip.

See that long pause? Yea, I was letting that awesomeness sink in for a few. Buffchickdip (as it shall be referenced from here forward) has been a staple in my life ever since my first tail-gate. You might be thinking, "That sounds good but . . ." or "I've had it before and it wasn't allthatandabagofchips." Well I'm here to rid you of your uneasiness. Make you a buffchickdip believer. A connoisseur of sorts.

Over the years, I have made this more times than I can count and have given the recipe out even more times than that! That's a whole lot of goodness going around. One thing I will say is this - the ingredients you choose are key to this dip's success. I have given the recipe out to many people, and some common feedback is that their version doesn't taste the same, it's missing something, yada yada yada. Part of the reason is that their's isn't Homemade With Love - HA! Cute craft coming soon fyi. (I don't really do that for the record. Unless I know you. Really well. Kidding again. Maybe.)

So back to the ingredients. What am I recommending that you realllllly need to use? 

• Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce (found at most grocery store chains)
• Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch Dressing (orange label - found at Martin's and Kroger in the produce cold case)
• A good quality, sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
• Philadelphia Cream Cheese (don't get a store brand - unless you like ground chuck over a Ruth's Chris Petite Filet)

The most common reason that yours won't taste like mine? The wrong sauce and the wrong Ranch Dressing. I like to think I'm pretty easy going, but when it comes to salad dressings - I'm a Stepford Snob. But for real though - the wrong dressing will kill this. I also use Ranch instead of the traditional Blue Cheese for the simple fact that these flavors work best and many people don't like Blue Cheese - we're trying to be crowd pleasers 'round these parts. 

O and one more thing. Just in case you thought this recipe might in some way be healthy . . . it's not. At all. Sure you could probably switch out a few ingredients, but you know what that will get ya? The canned-cranberry-sauce-at-thanksgiving version of buffchickdip. Just saying.

The Best Buffalo Chicken Dip

What You'll Need

• 8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 8 ounces good quality, sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
• 8 ounces Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 8 ounces Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch Dressing
• 2 large or 3 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Extra cheese for baking
• Tortilla chips for munching and serving

How To Make It

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Next, bring medium pot of lightly salted water to boil.
• Add raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts to water and simmer until cooked through ~15-20 minutes.
• While chicken is cooking, slice your package of cream cheese into 6 or 8 slices.
• Lay slices around evenly in bottom of baking dish.
• Evenly sprinkle shredded cheese over cream cheese.
• Pour buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing evenly over cheeses.
• When chicken is finished cooking, remove from water and allow to cool. If you need to finish assembling the dip right away, you may place your chicken in the freezer to quicken cooling or in a cool water bath. 
• Once cool, "pull" the chicken so that it ends up in thin strands/shredded like pulled barbecue meat. 
• Some people use a Kitchenaid Mixer with paddle attachment to shred/pull chicken meat.
• Once oven is preheated, place baking dish with mixture (no chicken) into the oven for ~8 to 10 minutes, allowing cheeses to melt.
• Remove from oven and stir to ensure that you have a uniform, melted mixture.
• Fold in shredded chicken making sure that it is all covered in sauce/cheese mixture.
• Sprinkle extra cheese on top and place back into oven for ~15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove and serve with tortilla chips.

If this isn't the best dip that has ever graced a chip, I don't know what is.

-Sue