Alabama Tide vs. the Florida Gators

Today is the big day! Alabama meets the Florida Gators in Atlanta for the game of all games this season. I will be making my favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip for the game. May the best team win! ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

• 2-3 chicken breasts (fresh, uncooked or you can use rotisserie chicken as well)
  
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®) OR 3/4 cup of your favorite Buffalo Wing Sauce, I often use Moore's Wing Sauce for this recipe, it's not as hot but just as tasty.
  
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (you can also mix in mozzarella as well)
• DIPPERS: Tortilla Chips, Celery Sticks, Carrot Sticks (or ones cut into "chip" shapes), and the best thing I've discovered recently Chicken Biscuit Crackers! ZOMG! SO good! I can't believe I had never discovered these sooner but I'm glad I didn't. I ate a whole box almost by myself the last time I purchased them! EEP!
  

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Put whole chicken breasts in a heavy pot and fill pot with water (just enough to cover the chicken breasts). I usually add some Weber's Kickin' Chicken spice to this, I'm obsessed with this stuff and use it on just about everything that I make with chicken. You can also add hot sauce to the pot if needed.
3. Bring pot of water to a boil and let breasts cook for approximately 20 minutes. You will want to test them to be sure they are cooked through by cutting small slice in the breast. If it's still pink, boil for a little longer. (SKIP ALL THIS IF YOU ARE USING AN ALREADY COOKED BIRD).
   
4. Pull breasts from pot once cooked and allow them to rest on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes.
   
5. In mixing bowl combine softened cream cheese, your hot sauce/buffalo sauce and ranch dressing until creamy and well blended. Mix in half of your cheese mixture as well
6. Once chicken has cooled take 2 forks and tear the meat up into small pieces. This will give you pulled chicken and make it easier to incorporated the meat into the dip, as well as give more meat per scoop for each guest.
7. Mix the meat and the cheese mixture together and spread into an oven safe casserole dish
8. Cover mixture with the remaining shredded cheese.
9. Bake mixture until warm and bubbly - the top of the cheese will become a little brown, approximately 20 minutes.
10. Serve straight out of the baking dish with the above mentioned dippers and enjoy.

Note: This recipe is great the next day if you have left overs - it warms  up perfectly in the microwave.

ENJOY!!!

(I'll be happy when football season and the holidays are over, maybe my size 12 jeans will actually fit me again once I've rid myself of all this delicious food temptation - stay tuned for the "life changes vs. new years resolutions" post!!!)

ROLL TIDE ROLL!