Buffalo Chicken Dip

While brainstorming ideas for an appetizer to take to my Mema's 86th birthday party, I knew I wanted to do a type of chicken dish since I had gotten a great deal on a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. My cousin would be making her famous Chicken Dip so I needed to go in another direction. When I made the decision to make a Buffalo Chicken Dip, I found many variations out there on the internet. I decided to tailor it to fit my tastes because I don't like canned chicken or bleu cheese dressing. The dip turned out well and I think it got better when it was at room temperature. It's possible that it could even be good cold, but considering there was only about a tablespoon left at the end of the party, I couldn't test my theory.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
1 cup hot sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped (optional)

Stir together the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and hot sauce until smooth. Add the chicken and mix well. Spread into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle green onions on top. Serve with chips.

This is a whole rotisserie chicken that I chopped. It equals about four cups of chicken.

For the sauce, I mixed a block of softened cream cheese

with a cup of bottled ranch dressing

and a cup of Crystal hot sauce.

I mixed well.

It turned into a beautiful orange sauce. I added the chicken and mixed well. I put the mixture in a greased casserole dish and baked it at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. At that point, I added the shredded cheddar cheese and cooked for another 10 minutes.

These green onions were huge so I only used two.

Green onions are not optional for me; they're very much necessary. But, I did notice my picky relatives shoving them to the side. The onions did stop them, just slowed them down a little. So, I'll understand if you don't use them.

The cheese is melted - the onions are scattered. My mouth is watering...

This dip was devoured!

Note:  The heat level on this dish is low to medium. Some people tasted a little heat; some folks didn't notice any heat at all. Also, when I took the dip out of the oven, it looked a little greasy, but as it cooled, the appearance improved. When I took out the first few scoops, there was some hot sauce gathered at the bottom, but a few scoops into it, the sauce had been absorbed. I suggest you serve this at room temperature.