Ahhh the weekend. Yes even though I do not have a regular job these days the weekends are still the most enjoyable! Today’s recipe I got from my friend Karen’s daughter Nicole. Karen had brought this recipe to our annual Super Bowl Party in 2009. It was such a hit that I asked Nicole for the recipe and I made it for this past Super Bowl. Once again it was a huge success. There are many  different variations of this recipe out there right now but I stuck with this one and just changed a couple little things, nothing major. Nicole’s recipe calls for regular cream cheese and I used the lighter version and I also used the 2% shredded cheddar cheese rather than the full fat version. As the recipe stated “It’s like eating buffalo chicken wings without the messy fingers!” My husband John wants me to make this for dinner one night even though it’s really an appetizer dish. Serve it with sturdy tortilla chips, pita chips or any strong chip. The recipe calls for cooked chicken breast. You can cook the chicken anyway you like. Some people bake it and then shred with a fork or even microwave it till cooked and shred. I actually sautéed mine in a little olive oil. I put garlic powder on the boneless breasts and sautéed till the juices ran clear. (smells awesome while cooking by the way). And then in small batches I cut the chicken into small chunks and put them in the food processor and pulsed till all broken up and shredded/ground. It was easier than shredding with a fork and got much more uniform pieces. But it’s up to you how you like to cook your chicken. You can even used canned chicken but it’s better fresh. And if you go over the 3 cups it calls for that’s fine. A little more chicken won’t hurt.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups cooked chicken breast (about 3 breasts depending on size)

(2) 8oz bars of cream cheese (I used light cream cheese)

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 cup of your favorite blue cheese dressing (Marie’s is always good but any dressing is good)

6 oz. of your favorite Hot Sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce)(You can also use more of the hot sauce if you like if you like it hotter)

2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used 2%)

Tortilla Chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all ingredients together EXCEPT for the cheddar cheese.

2. Spread into a 13 x 9 pan. Top with shredded cheese.

3. Bake at 350°  for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

4. Serve with chips!