Previously on Ladies…

Well team, I must say, I was very impressed with the response to Week One of the Friday Football Foodie Training Camp. The general response was overwhelming, and a few fine readers took the time to send in photos of your very own Pizza Loaves.

With that type of enthusiasm, I really think we have a real shot of making the playoffs here.

But we cannot go into the season without trying out some new plays. The Pizza Loaf is a good go-to running play, but you’re also going to need a new quick 15-yard slant pass because last year? You dropped the ball every time you pulled out a bag of Funions instead of going for something a little more substantive.

We’re trying out something new this week, a menu that with a little fine tuning, could become our next 3 and 8 play.

Friday Football Foodie – Buffalo Chicken Dip, Stoli Blueberri Fizz, and New Snack Review of the Week: Pringles Select Sweet Potato Chips

You will need…


2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup blue cheese or ranch dressing
3/4-1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese (Or white cheddar, or mozzarella, or whatever you have handy, aside of maybe gouda)
1/2 cup blue cheese (optional)
fresh chives or green onions to taste
3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce Original (Yes, the Original. They make a buffalo style sauce, but there is no need for “soybean oil and buttery flavoring” when you have next…)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons chopped garlic – really – use as much or as little garlic as you like.
2 cups shredded chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

A note about the chicken – The easiest way to get two cups of shredded chicken is to use the chicken in a can. But unless you’re making a casserole that also involves a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, you’re going to for fresher chicken. For the same price as two cans of chicken, you can pick up a roasted 2 pound chicken in the deli, which will be fall-off-the-bone moist and give you tastier results. (The dip is the Ravens and you just got Willis McGahee and released Jamal Lewis.)

If you already have chicken at home, either bake or poach two to three chicken breasts and then shred those with a fork.

Saute garlic over medium low heat. (If you opted out of the garlic, skip this step and just melt down your butter. Do not scald it and make it turn brown rookie, or you’ll be on clean up patrol.)

Add chicken and Red Hot sauce and heat throughly. Now, if you want more kick here, feel free to use more hot sauce or give it a couple of dashes of “Dave’s Super Hot Melt Your Toes Off Sauce.” Since this was the first time I made this dish, I didn’t want to get too fancy and just used the Frank’s Red Hot. I thought it was spicy enough, but there is always some jerk at a party who says “Needs more heat,” as if one can prove the size of their stones by how hot food is. Keep a special bottle of “Mega Hot Death” on the side for them to use, and know that they’ll regret the extra heat in the morning.

Layer into casserole dish. I made a mistake here. I should have used a larger – maybe a 9 x 13 inch – dish here. This is training camp and it is okay to make a mistake now, but you better believe when it is game time, I will use a shallower dish.

Give your skillet a quick clean off, or use a second skillet.

Melt cream cheese over medium-low heat. I am not kidding about the “low” in the description. Any hotter and you’re going to burn the cheese. Resist dipping bagels into pan or suddenly making cream cheese wontons.

Reduce heat and add blue cheese dressing. Work quickly! No burning the mixture!

Add chives/green onions. Just so you can say you had your greens for the day.

Pour over chicken. Again, looking at the reel, I really should have used a larger dish and spread out the coverage more.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling at the edges, and then add your cheese on top. If you add it any sooner, it will form a hard crust on top, and no one needs to have to struggle with a dip when it is already a struggle to watch Nate Washington drop the ball. Again.

Bake 15-20 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve with crackers and crudite. Another training camp mistake. Most of the recipes for this dip I read suggested serving the dip with the Chicken in a Biskit crackers. Never, ever again will I allow that much salty food on to the field at one time. You cannot go for the long run when you are retaining 17 gallons of water. It’s a hardy dip, and works well with the celery. Need to scout out less salty crackers or chips for the next time.

Do not let one person hog the whole dip. Especially when that person is going to get bored with pre-season games early and go and play golf instead.

Not bad for a first try. It was actually was a fantastic dip, saltiness of crackers and too deep to handle mistakes aside. But this is why we train in the first place.

Stoli Blueberri Fizz

You will need…

Blueberri Stoli
Lemonade
Ginger Ale
Blueberries
Ice

Muddle blueberries at the bottom of a glass with either a muddler or a fork.

Add ice and a generous pour of Stoli Blueberri – not seen here as I don’t need you people judging me. Conversely, if you do not consume alcohol, just double up on the ginger ale and used more blueberries in the muddling step so you get the same fruit taste.

Add about a shot (2 ounces) of ginger ale. Just enough for a light fizz in the drink.

Fill the rest of the way with lemonade. I was as shocked as you were that there was still room in the glass.

Garnish with more blueberries, to give yourself the appearance of getting in a full serving of fruit.

Enjoy. While not quite as potent as the Watermelon Slushees, they still have a little bit of a punch so two before game time will have you good and ready to go.

New Snack Review of the Week: Pringles Select Sweet Potato Chips

Sometimes it is nice to have something soothing and sweet to go along with the spicy and hot, and cinnamon sweet potato chips are the perfect foil to the Buffalo Chicken Dip. These sweet chips are light in texture, and at 150 calories for 28 chips, (although the 9 grams of fat is a little high), it’s not a bad alternative to say, actual candy.

NEXT WEEK – TBD – PROBABLY INVOLVES CORN DOGS

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36 Responses to Friday Football Foodie – Buffalo Chicken Dip, Stoli Blueberri Fizz, and Sweet Potato Chips

  1. beingsven says:

    I love the word ‘muddle’…

    Muddle the blueberries!!!

  2. lainieb says:

    Oh…my. Must try Buffalo Chicken Dip.

    As I live in Canada, I have never heard of Chicken in a Biskit crackers. Do they have some odd chicken-like flavour to them?

  3. Julie says:

    I love making that chicken dip, my aunt gave the exact (and I mean down to the butter and garlic and Frank’s Hot Sauce) recipe. I must add chives the next time though.

  4. Thank god I read this around lunch time, otherwise my boss would be angry with me for taking a chicken break at 10:15 AM.

  5. Holly says:

    WE HAVE THE SAME GLASSES WE ARE TWINSIES.

    And lainie, trust me, you’re better off.

  6. ladyandrea says:

    That dip looks delicious. I cannot wait to try it. My pizza loaf turned out great.

  7. thistlewarrior says:

    I’ve made the dip before, but w/out the garlic and chives. It was really good, but when I make it for my fantasy draft next week I am definitely going to add those in. Also Tostitos scoops work well w/it–a really good dip-to-chip ratio so less overall salt!

    Those sweet potato chips look freaking awesome! I must have some!

  8. ladyandrea says:

    Oh my god, fantasy draft! Thistle, you are a genius! I’m finally getting to have a live, in-person fantasy draft and I am TOTALLY making this. What a great idea!

  9. Rob I. says:

    I like to dip Pita Chips in my Buffalo Chicken Dip, but I admit that celery seems to be the ideal dip vehicle.

    Yum!

  10. jebushchrist says:

    I love this feature and that cowboy hat is splendid.
    That is all.

  11. Bullet! Bullet! Bullet! says:

    TSW…my sister-in-law makes this, and serves it with Fritos Scoops. May I say….awesome!

    [by the way…my first post over here]

  12. Fine, we won’t judge you on the booze. But you left yourself wide open with the diet ginger ale.

    It all looks good.

    I didn’t know they made 10-gallon Steeler hats.

  13. Blue Devil says:

    As a born and raised Buffalonian (I think I made that up), I completely approve of that recipe. The butter is completely necessary, it is part of what makes the wings so delicious. Some days living in healthy california is a real bummer.

  14. Clare says:

    All recipes need extensive testing, so I made the buffalo chicken dip for dinner a few nights ago. FABULOUS. I baked mine in two little crocks, and I had it with carrot surfboards and Tostitos Gold chips. Yum.

  15. Peter Cavan says:

    I’m disappointed TSW isn’t rocking the I-beam hat from the ’90s. Maybe she’s saving it for next week.

    One of my mom’s friends was making buffalo chicken dip last Christmas and was supposed to send me the recipe. His version used Cheddar cheese and had it mixed in while the chicken was still in the skillet. I’ll have to try this version for my fantasy draft in three weeks.

    However, I may make blueberry fizzes this weekend. I love the Stoli Blueberi.

  16. I couldn’t find the final step in the chicken dip recipe. You know… the one that explains how I bribe you into bringing two trays of it to my fantasy football draft.

    I kid… I kid…

    Looks amazing. I will have to make that soon. I love using the whole rotisserie chickens for dishes like this. I like to put one in my Zatarain’s Jambalaya.

  17. Burnsy says:

    My pizza loaf sucked when I tried it after making it, but oddly it was delicious the next day reheated. Go figure.

  18. bristlesage says:

    Oh, that looks like an excellent dip. Me, I like to make my artichoke dip (which is cream cheese-y, like this one) in my little crockpot so it stays warm all game long.

    What of chili? Is that part of your repertoire, TSW?

  19. Yostal says:

    TSW, why, oh why must you keep posting kick ass recipes when I am the midst of my most prolonged (albeit successful) weight loss program of my life.

    Screw it, I’m still trying this one as well. Keep up the great work.

  20. Oh lord, I don’t even want to try and calorie counter this recipe. The drink looks fantastic though!

  21. Burnsy says:

    Yostal, you can enjoy these fine recipes and maintain your diet, if you just start every morning with a liter of Jack Daniels and 16 lines of coke.

  22. I’m starting to think that TSW doesn’t want anyone to see what she really looks like.

  23. dctrojan says:

    My arteries do not thank you, but I do.

  24. […] Friday Football Foodie – Buffalo Chicken Dip, Stoli Blueberri Fizz, and Sweet Potato Chips Well team, I must say, I was very impressed with the response to Week One of the Friday Football Foodie Training Camp. […] […]

  25. chasevidwrightley says:

    Oh my.

    NEED. BLUEBERRI. FIZZ. NOW.

    A side of Buffalo Chicken Dip would be an added bonus.

    Wow.

  26. BBDeac says:

    I made the pizza loaf as an appetizer for a pot luck dinner this week and it was a HUGE hit.

    PS – the Pringles Select Parmesan Garlic chips are very money too.

  27. Extra P. says:

    Fuck. Nobody is going to want to hear about my Totino’s frozen pizzas now. Thanks a lot.

  28. Anthony says:

    This sounds absolutely delicious, but I must say that the Litehouse brand Bleu Cheese is not nearly Bleu Cheesey enough for my liking. It was basically mayo with a few chunks in it. They offer a double-the-cheese variety, but for the price you could go with Marie’s or Marzetti’s. The best option, though, is to just buy some fresh bleu cheese and make your own!

  29. Anthony – Strangely enough, I don’t like Marie’s at all, and Marzetti’s is never carried around me.

  30. Anthony says:

    I haven’t actually tried Marie’s, just ASS-U-ME it is better based entirely on popularity and price tag.

    Like I said, the best option is to make your own when possible, as it is fairly easy and does not require any special skillz or hardware.

    This post has inspired me to go post my Superbowl chili recipe on the old blog.

    I want chili, now.

  31. IJustMadeThatUp says:

    P.S. The buffalo dip was an excellent appetizer for my pre-golf warm-up. Helped me work through my slice.

  32. Will says:

    I would suggest switching the shredded chicken for ground chicken… would probably make things a little easier all around.

  33. Will – Good suggestion, but I prefer shredded chicken. (When I was a kid I got it in my head they didn’t grind up the good meat.)

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