Recipe of the Month: (the BEST) Buffalo Chicken Dip

Every month we plan to offer you one or two recipes that taste absolutely delicious. At BBN Physical Therapy, we absolutely encourage healthy choices. However, with football season upon us, we simply had to share our favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip with you. It's all about portion control folks! We don't recommend making this recipe for your dinner. But...please take it to your next football gathering--your friends will thank you!

(And please know that we would love to try out YOUR favorite recipe and feature it in our newsletter--feel free to email it to us at frontdesk@bbnphysicaltherapy.com....or better yet, make it and bring it by the clinic for us to test taste!).

Buffalo Chicken Dip*

Ingredients

6 chicken legs (use breast if you like white meat, dark has more flavor)

1 bunch of celery

3-4 green onions

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 garlic cloves

1-2 jalapeños

24 ounces of cream cheese (3 packages)

2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar

1 1/2 to 2 cups of chunky bleu cheese dressing

1 to 1 1/2 cups of hot sauce (Texas Pete or Franks are both great)

To flavor the water when boiling chicken legs, we suggest you use oregano, celery seed, salt, pepper, the tops of the celery stalks, bottoms of green onions, garlic powder or clove of garlic, cayenne pepper. You can also save the water to use as "broth" in soups!

Directions

1. Start water to boil on stove (enough to cover the chicken when you add it), add spices as you like to water. After water comes to rolling boil, add chicken and cook until it's done-about 30 minutes.

2.Chop Celery: using leafy tops and unused bottoms to add to stock when boiling chicken

Cut 3-5 stalks of celery finely (to add to dip later)

Chop the remaining celery into 2 inch sections to use along with crackers for dipping

3. Chop 4 green onions to sprinkle on top of dip when complete. Add the "hairy end bulbs" to your stock cooking on stove.

4. Chop sweet onions, garlic and jalapeños finely to add to the dip a later.

5. Soften cream cheese in microwave

6. In a large bowl, mix in cheddar, bleu cheese dressing and hot sauce with the softened cream cheese and add chopped sweet onion, celery, garlic and jalapeno to cheese mixture. Set this aside until the chicken is fully cooked.

7. Pull chicken out of stock when fully cooked and let it cool until you can skin and debone. Chop chicken and add to cheese mixture.

Place in fridge until ready to serve. You can serve cold or heat in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and serve warm. Sprinkle to green onions on top before serving.

Strain and reserve the broth for other yummy recipes!

*Recipe courtesy of Laura White, friend of BBN---Thanks Laura!