Layered Buffalo Chicken Dip

I stole this from a fellow Nestie from way back... I didn't have her recipe in front of me, but this turned out pretty well!

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
16 oz sour cream
2 oz ranch dressing/dip mix (2 envelopes)
2 - 12.5 oz cans of chunk chicken breast
1/2 - 3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat your oven to 350

Cream the cream cheese and sour cream together with a mixer until smooth.  Add the ranch mix and mix until evenly distributed.  Spread this mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Drain the chicken breast and place in a bowl.  Add 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese and wing sauce to taste.  Stir well, then spread over the ranch mixture in your baking dish.  Top with remaining cheddar cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly, 15-20 minutes.  Serve with crackers, chips and celery sticks for dipping!

Herbed Cream Cheese Appetizers

I made these for a cocktail party/whiskey tasting we hosted the other weekend - they were delicious, I just wish I'd remembered to grab a photo of the finished product...

• Herbed Cream Cheese (adapted from the Crispy Cook)
• 2 packages cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup EACH finely chopped basil, chives and dill
• 2 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
• 4 ounces pancetta, small dice
• 4 ounce package of smoked salmon, torn/cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 English (seedless) cucumbers cut into 1/8-1/4" thick slices

Several hours ahead of time, combine cream cheese and butter in a mixer until well blended.  Add herbs and garlic, and mix until well combined and herbs are evenly distributed.  Add a splash of milk or white wine if the mixture is too stiff.  Refrigerate to allow flavors to combine for about 4 hours, or overnight.  Remove mixture from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before assembling the remainder of the dish - place in a piping bag with a large star tip.  

Cook your diced pancetta in a skillet over medium heat until golden and well rendered.  Set aside to cool.  

Lay your cucumber slices on your chosen serving platter.  Pipe a small dab of cream cheese mixture on each slice, top with salmon.  

Pipe a decorative swirl of additional cream cheese and place 1-2 cubes of pancetta on top.  Serve immediately.

BBQ Chicken Pita Pizzas

We found this recipe in our "Eating for Life" cookbook and were instantly hooked!  This is a frequent weekend lunch in our house.

Ingredients (per person):
4 oz uncooked chicken breast
1 whole wheat pita pocket
2 Tbs. BBQ sauce
1/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 thin slice red onion
2 tsp. fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

Preheat your oven to 425.  Cook the chicken in a pan, cool slightly and chop OR chop into bite sized pieces before cooking.  Top each pita with the BBQ sauce, cheese, onion, chicken, rosemary and then just a little extra cheese on top.  Bake pizzas for 5-7 minutes or until warmed through.  Yum!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

This has become a standard in our lunch rotation.  It makes just the right amount to feed both of us for a week.  You could bulk it up with some quinoa, chicken, or even cheese and avocado if you wanted. 

Slightly adapted from Cooking Light. 

Salad:

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups corn kernels (fresh, drained canned or thawed frozen all OK) 

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups chopped seeded tomato

1 cup finely chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 chopped green bell pepper

Dressing:

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)

1 tablespoon chili powder

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons honey

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the teaspoon of oil in a large skillet.  Add garlic and cumin seeds, and cook for about 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant, stirring constantly.  Add corn and black beans, stir to coat.  Cook over low heat for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool. 

In a large bowl, combine tomato, onions and bell pepper.  Add cooled corn and bean mixture.  In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients except cilantro.  Stir in cilantro and pour over salad.  Stir until dressing is evenly distributed.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Makes 12 (1-cup) servings. 

Our favorite salad

While searching for new and interesting Eating for Life recipes to try, I came across this gem and it became a fast favorite for both of ours. 

Mexican Ranch Chicken and Avocado Salad  (serves 2)

1/2 pound chicken cut into bite sized pieces
Paprika
Chili powder
Cumin
Garlic Salt
Onion Powder
Celery Salt
1 slice red onion
2 tomatoes
2 servings light ranch dressing (about 1/4 cup)
1 ripe avocado

Toss the chicken with spices (I never measure, just eyeball; if you're not comfortable doing this, a couple of tablespoons of packaged taco seasoning would be a reasonable substitute) and saute in a hot pan until cooked through, 7-10 minutes.  Remove from the pan and cool. 

Meanwhile, seed and chop both tomatoes and finely chop the onion.  Stir together tomato mixture and cooled chicken with ranch dressing until combined.  Halve, pit and slice the avocado, placing half on each of 2 plates; season with salt and pepper.  Top each avocdo with half of the ranch mixture and serve immediately.

Maple Bourbon Blondies

I think I'm starting to understand why Shaun likes to go hang with the guys on Friday nights so much now.  Whenever he goes over there, I get the urge to bake.  Tonight I whipped up these little baddies - so delish.  They baked up cakier than I expected, but they were still awesome; not too sweet, just enough kick from the bourbon. 

(Adapted from Best Ever Cookie Collection)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup (the real stuff please!)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon bourbon or whiskey

Preheat your oven to 350 and lightly butter an 8x8 baking dish.  Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together into a large bowl.  In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat.  Stir in brown sugars until well combined; remove from heat and stir in the maple syrup.  Allow to cool to lukewarm.  Once cooled, add your eggs one at a time and stir to combine.  Add the vanilla and bourbon.  Add the liquid ingredients to your flour mixture and stir to combine (I like to use my hand mixer for this to ensure a smooth texture).  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center is set; the edges will be golden and starting to pull away from the pan. 

This is a great recipe for add-ins; chocolate chips or toasted nuts would be amazing, even though I didn't have any.

A bit about me...

My name is Kelley.  I'm a late 20's, working mom of one adorable toddler named Kayla, and wife to Shaun.  I love to write, and I love being in the kitchen.  I super pink puffy heart Paula Deen, hence me totally ripping her off for the title of this blog.  I love blogging too - check out our family blog and my occasional photo blog in addition to peeking into my kitchen here!  Thanks for reading!