My very own recipe

I love baking and I'm pretty fond of cooking. I find that these, above most of my "adventures," are deemed domesticated. Which is fine. I enjoy eating - baking and cooking allow me to eat. If that's domestic well then at least I'll try to be awesome at it. 

I started baking before I was tall enough to reach the counters. I believe I used a step stool. I remember one Christmas in particular my Mom had not been able to do any baking whatsoever until Christmas eve. So she took my sister and I into the kitchen, gave us each a recipe book, told us which cookie to make, said she was doing fudge and let us loose. I haven't looked back since. Then during my parent's divorce I made cookies every Thursday night so my brothers and sister and father would have a cookie in their lunch on Friday (I used to make the lunches too). I didn't really know what I was doing then and would add all the ingredients into the bowl at once and stir as much as my wee arms would let me. 

My brothers used to call those cookies cement. 

I've gotten better.

I swear. 

Now a days I tend to save my baking for Christmas. Mostly because I love making fudge and cookies and pies. It also saves me the calories throughout the year. However every other month or so a couple bananas get a bit too ride and then...I just have to make them into bread...what else do you do with ripe bananas? 

Last Christmas we attended our friend's Tacky Sweater party and munched on some super yummy Buffalo Chicken Dip. I hated the thought of what was in it...boxes and boxes of cream cheese. I was eating my weight in calories. Sometime between that party and our annual New Years party with the Butlers, someone told me how Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream and sometimes cream cheese in cooking. Lightbulb....

This is when I created my very first, my very own recipe. My crazy brain thought this one up from scratch and it actually tastes good! I've been wanting a way to share it but I hadn't made it since that day. Well today we're heading back over to the friends who had the Tacky Sweater party and this time, I'm armed with my style of Buffalo Chicken Dip. Give it a go but don't tell anyone it's actually healthy until they can't stop eating it. 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Texas Pete (or other) Hot Sauce

17.5 Ounces diced chicken booby (that's chicken breast: one big can, one regular can)

2 Cups drained Greek yogurt (you drain it with cheese cloth, if you can find cheese cloth)

1 Ranch Dressing dip mix

1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or whatever you have in the fridge...like me)

1/2 Teaspoon cumin

Flour to thicken

Directions:

Strain the chicken and shred it to little bits. 

It's amazing how well a potato masher works for this. 

In a medium saucepan combine yogurt,

Chicken and ranch dressing packet,

Set to medium heat and mix. 

Add hot sauce and cumin

Mix and cook until nice and bubbly

Add cheese and cook a little longer until cheese is good and melty. The dip will be rather soupy at this point. Add some flour to thicken. I end up adding about 1/4 cup of flour I believe. It will depend on how wet your yogurt was. 

Serve and enjoy! You can serve it hot or let it cool (as it cools, it thickens more). 

I like to serve it with cut up celery to really emphasize the healthiness and also celery goes really well with hot sauce. 

Omnomnomnom

There ya have it. That's healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip. Create, devour, don't feel bad about it!

If you have any questions about the recipe, leave me a message and I'll try to answer them. 

Liz