Sunday, March 22, 2015

Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites


It seems like no matter what birthday party or get together you go to nowadays, there is always Buffalo Chicken Dip!  Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff.  But isn't it time to mix things up a bit?  For Howie's 25th birthday party last night, I tweaked my usual recipe and put it in crunchy, flaky, bite-size fillo shells that you can just pop right into your mouth!  Everybody went crazy for them AND I didn't get stuck washing a million plates and spoons like I usually have to do with the dip.  You gotta try these Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites for your next big get-together!


The recipe is super simple.  Start by preheating your oven to 350°F so it's ready to go when you finish assembling the fillo shells.  An important thing to note is that this is not the same recipe that everybody has for buffalo chicken dip, so don't try to make your usual and spoon it into fillo shells!  This filling is a little thicker, which allows the bites hold their shape and not bubble out of control in the oven; you want this to be easy for your guests to eat!  


I mixed a package of room-temperature cream cheese, 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing and 1/3 cup of Frank's RedHot Hot Buffalo in a medium bowl until it was a smooth consistency.  I was intending on using the regular Frank's RedHot Buffalo, but the grocery store was out so I had to buy the spicier version.  It ended up being a blessing in disguise!  Since I added less hot sauce and dressing to keep the filling thicker, I found that using the extra hot version gave it the same kick as the dip!  I stirred in 1 cup of finely diced chicken that I cooked ahead of time, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup cheddar cheese.  A whole 2 minutes of work and the filling is done!




Now for my favorite part...the mini fillo shells!   These are a flaky Greek pastry shell that can be found in the frozen food section of your local grocery store by the pie crusts and Cool Whip.  Don't worry, even though it's a pastry shell, they aren't sweet!  They basically take on the flavor of whatever you put in them, but up the texture and the fanciness of the dish!  I spooned the mixture into the cups until they were piled high, but not overflowing.  Don't be afraid to fill them up past the brim of the fillo shell because this dip doesn't get bubbly and turn into a liquid like regular buffalo chicken dip.  Trust me when I say that I was terrified these would overflow while all of our friends were arriving, but I took a gamble and it worked!  

I baked them for 12-15 minutes, until the fillo shells were golden brown and the filling was piping hot!  And silly me forgot to take a picture of the final product...what can I say, I'm only human!  It was kind of difficult when all of our friends couldn't stop eating them.  And you're trying to say hi to 15 people all at once while the timer keeps going off.  Anyway, you gotta bake these Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites for your next party!





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