Time flies and Buffalo dip

How funny that today I decided I needed to get back to my blog, and it's been almost one year to the day since my last post. Life got a little crazy - but a lot of good things happened. I finished my dietetic internship, moved to a cute little town, got pregnant with baby #4, and just passed my RD exam! My oldest nugget started Kindergarten and that in itself blows my mind. As for food, since I last blogged I've gone to the vegan dark side and now back. Although some of my favorite recipes (soon to be shared) are from my vegan era - I don't know how I could live without my Date cookie balls or peanut butter protein bars.  There have also been some serious vegan fails: tofu chocolate pudding comes to mind. During the winter months I've busted out my crock pot much more than usual and will eventually share my version of Taco soup. Now that we're over the vegan-thing, we have been trying to eat cleaner (aside from my baking experiments), less packaged crap, and buy local foods- both good things, right?  Jordan has also gotten into charcuterie - making his own bacon and prosciutto using an old refrigerator he converted into his "curing chamber" in the garage (I don't look in there, I'm seriously afraid).  So that's the Kahn foodie update since I last blogged.

Moving along - today I want to share a recipe that was given to me by my aunt, an incredible cook. Never has she passed along a less than superb recipe. Her recipe for buffalo chicken dip will blow your mind. Here's the truth - I've never been a fan of buffalo-anything before. But then I got pregnant and this caused some sick chemical disturbance where I could, as the slogan goes, "put that sh*! on everything". And I do. Anyway, back to the recipe. The original calls for an entire STICK of butter. I gave it a shot with about 2 healthy Tbsp and think it was perfect but feel free to experiment with that one if you are brave enough; I also added jalapeños and blue cheese to the recipe and think its even better than I remember (sorry, Robin). I have only made this once but I can assure you it will turn out delish for you, too.

I made it for Superbowl and despite every horizontal surface being covered with dips and snacks galore, this dip was devoured. I don't really have a good picture (quite honestly this dip isn't going to win any beauty awards), just the one of my cute husband digging in - you can even put this sh*! on pulled pork sliders! Get ready, people. You are in for a bit of buffalo paradise.

Chicken Buffalo Dip adapted from Robin Snider's recipe

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts cooked, diced (I used almost an entire package of pre-cooked chicken breast pieces from Trader Joe's)
2-3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup (or slightly more) of Frank's buffalo sauce
~2 Tbsp diced jalapeño

1/2 cup diced celery 
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
~1/2 cup blue cheese

Pita chips, celery sticks 

PREP:
Preheat oven to 325. Melt butter in pan and add diced chicken to coat, followed by buffalo sauce and jalapeños. Remove from heat. Spread cream cheese on the bottom of an 8x8 pan or small casserole dish. Top with chicken mixture, then sprinkle with celery.  Finish by topping with shredded cheese and blue cheese. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with pita chips and celery sticks. BAM.

*i've also made this by mixing all the ingredients in a large bowl, and baking as directed. Turns out great! 
* recipe can be assembled the night before