Repost of Chicken Wing Dip from 2010

Easy Chicken Wing Dip

It's Sunday and at our house, if the husband is off of work, normally it's a day of football watching.  Well today, his plans are being hijacked, as we have a Halloween Party to go to.  I am working at the party, so Jay is on kid patrol.  To make up for it, I made him chicken wing dip.

As a native Buffalo-nian, I have had many different prepartations of chicken wing dip. I have made them with bleu cheese or ranch dressing, but my absolute favorite is the one I enjoyed at my sister-in-law's house.  I asked her for the recipe and have been making it ever since.  I may have made a few changes to the original recipe, but the same flavor is there.

What I like about this recipe is the creamy texture of the cheese and the spicy nature of the hot sauce.  Mind you this recipe verges on the med to hot side, so if you like it a bit milder, use only 1/2 cup of hot sauce. I always make a full or double batch, and freeze it in smaller containers.

recipe

2 8oz packages of softened cream cheese
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of hot sauce (I use Frank's)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken ( I use canned chicken breast)
1 tsp season salt (optional)

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy with a mixer.

Then add hot sauce and season salt, mix until creamy.  It will look like frosting.

Then with a spatula, fold in chicken and cheddar cheese. Sprinle top of dip with a little more cheddar cheese. Transfer to an oven safe baking dish. (At this point,  I make smaller portions to freeze.)

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  Enjoy with chips, crackers, or celery sticks.

Cake Balls

I am packing up the house and working my way through the pantry and freezer.  I saw some chocolate I needed to use up, so I decided to make cake pops.  Then I got tired, so I decided to make cake balls instead.  It's the same thing, just no lollipop stick.

I used vanilla cake, tinted pink and then decorated with milk chocolate with a red drizzle.  Truly a Valentine inspired cake treat.  Then three lucky recipients got the cake balls delivered to them this afternoon.

Here's I how made them:

1 vanilla cake mix, prepared as directed on package
3 cups of milk chocolate wafers
1/2 c. red candy wafers

Simply prepare the cake mix and using the cake pop pan or machine, prepare cake balls.  Allow to cool on a rack.

Meanwhile, in a double boiler melt the milk chocolate.  Dip cake balls into the chocolate removing with a fork to allow excess chocolate to drip off.  Allow to set on a wax paper lined pan.

After the milk chocolate is set, melt the red candy wafers in the microwave until just melted, about 2 minutes in 30 second intervals.  Using a fork, drizzle the red over the cake balls.

Allow to harden completely.  Then I boxed them up and off they went.

Yes, I photographed it on top of a moving box!

To Pin or Not To Pin?

When I was in 6th grade, the question of to pin or not to pin was in regards to your jeans.  Either you pinned them or rolled them.  I never was successful at rolling them correctly, so I chose to pin.

Today asking this question means something completely different.  My question today is can I get onboard with Pinterest?  I am really trying to "get it", but I just don't.  I tried it about a year ago, and did not understand what all the fuss was about.

Having a conversation with Amy the other night, she was so energetic about cupcake ideas she found on Pinterest.  While on the phone with her, I downloaded the app to my Kindle.  Later that night I said ok, I'll give it a try.  So I sat in bed looking up different things.  Ok, I admit it's nice to have all the ideas on one site, but I was still having difficulty finding the details for the items I liked.  Sometimes the content was blocked or the same item was pinned so many times it seemed very repetitive.

So help me out here, give me your best argument about Pinterest.  Yay or nay!  I am really interested in what you have to say.

Moving Along

In my last post, I share that we are moving home.  So I figured I would update everyone a bit on our progress.  

The home inspection is complete on our new house.  The inspector was impressed and found no issues.  That is so good to hear.  He also confirmed the steal we are getting, with all the upgrades the previous owner put in.  Yay for us, we are blessed.

The house in Oneonta is waiting for the mortgage appraisal to come back.  Then we can proceed on both houses with closing dates. 

I am just about packed.  I need to attack the basement a bit more, but for the most part we are looking good.  Now I am trying to figure out furniture placement for the new house.  This is important seeing I won't be there when everything is moved.  Me being completely controlling, I will have room plans set up to pass along to the movers.  I will have to rely on Jay a bit, as he will be on the other end carrying out my wishes.  He did well last time we did this, so I have confidence he will do well again.

I have been so nervous that something will fall through on the new house, but now I am more confident all is well.  That being said, I will share a few more pictures.

Open Concept Kitchen

Master bath (love the tile wall)

There are double sinks too, just can't see it in the pic

Family Room

Nice Stamped Concrete Patio

Rear View

Home Sweet Home!

Four years ago we purchased our house in Oneonta, NY and moved the children across the state to a new adventure.  I won't lie, I was not a happy camper.  I never wanted to leave the suburbs of Buffalo, and I certainly didn't want to move the children away from their family.  In fact, I always thought the day I would put a for sale sign on Irving Place, would be the happiest day of my life.

Well, I was wrong about so many things.  Now that we are embarking on moving back to suburbia, I have many mixed emotions.  I look at all the friendships we have made, and my heart is aching, especially for my boys.  Brandon is leaving the only home he remembers, and Adam is leaving his best friend.  Moving Adam away from his dear friend is very difficult.  One may ask, how close can two 7 year olds be?  Sit in the same room with them for 5 minutes and you will see.  I am thankful that Adam's little friend's parents are great.  They both have committed to helping the boys stay in touch. I am also thankful for social media to help stay in touch with all of our friends we have made in Oneonta.

I now look at this time we spent here as a learning experience.  I am also so blessed to have met some incredible people and families. 

So will I miss everything about Oneonta??  Uummm.....NO!  I will not miss the 120 year old house I live in.  We have a sale pending on a newer home in Lakeview, NY.

Oh, and our house in Oneonta sold in record time....three days! 

So we are setting out on a new adventure.  The boy's and I will finish the school year in Oneonta and will be renting an apartment for several months.  Fun times ;)

Jay will be starting a new job as a district manager, for a company not in the retail industry.  We are welcoming his new hours, and more time for the family.  I am also thrilled to be moving home!  I have missed so many of my friends in Buffalo!!!

Hey, I just thought of something....new house=more blog material!

Neat Packaging Idea For Holiday Treats

I learned long ago, during my days of having a gift basket business, that presentation is key.  You can take an ordinary item and really dress it up with a few simple tips.  I still hold true to that philosophy, especially when giving a gift.

It's holiday time and passing along sweet gifts to our friends and loved ones is so enjoyable.  I like to make food gifts.  The gift is simple, but I like to dress it up a bit in packaging.  I like to put vanilla sugar in mason jars fitted with holiday fabric and ribbons.  I like to wrap a loaf of bread on a festive platter.  The list is endless.  Today I am going to share a neat idea for packaging small holiday treats.

I have been invited to a cookie swap.  This year the hostess put out the idea of packaging the cookies to make the swap easier and more festive.  This is how I packaged mine this  year.

 

Each cookie swapper will receive a iced sugar mitten with two sugar stars dipped in chocolate.  Here' what the cookies looked like before the packaging.

 

 

 

 



The cookies on their own are delicious and festive.  However, nestle them in a cellophane bag, topped with a piece of card stock, and a sweet holiday label, and it becomes a great gift.

I used holiday post cards for my card stock that I found at the office supply store.  Then I just printed a label in a coordinating color and viola, package complete!

This is an inexpensive way to dress up any holiday treat.  Think about filling the bags with chocolate clusters, or your favorite trail mix.  Personalize the label to show a nice holiday sentiment.  Go ahead get creative, I give you permission ;)

Amy's Grasshopper Pie

December's Project Pie is here.  I originally intended to share my pecan pie recipe, but I forgot to take a picture.  Then I was chatting with my friend Amy, and remembered she was making her grasshopper pie for Thanksgiving.  I asked her nicely to take a picture and share the recipe.  She delivered, so here it is.  Doesn't it look so yummy? It's perfect for the upcoming holiday season!

 

Grasshopper Pie

 

1 Oreo Cookie crust (store bought)

24 large marshmallows

2/3 cup of milk

1 1/2 ounces creme de menthe

1 1/2 ounce creme de cocoa

1 cup heavy whipping cream

 

Melt marshmallows with milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat when completely melted. Mix in creme de menthe and creme de cocoa until well blended. Pour into container and refrigerate until cold.

 

Once mixture is cold, whip heavy cream until stiff. Fold into chilled mixture and pour into prepared pie crust. Back into the fridge for at least two hours. Serve with additional sweetened whipped cream. You may also garnish with chocolate curls if you wish.

Enjoy!