# 6 Buffalo Chicken Dip

# 6 Buffalo Chicken Dip Buffalo Chicken Dip
Originally posted at My Kitchen Addiction

Some of my dearest and probably longest known friends, Julia and Elizabeth, threw a Pintrest Christmas Craft Party that you can read about on here on their blog.  Each person brought a pinterest inspired food and we did a couple crafts they had found on pinterest. It was big time fun!

My food contribution was Buffalo Chicken Dip.  I picked it because I basically love 4 out of 5 ingredients.  I love cheese, cream cheese, wing sauce, chicken, and sour cream.  The 5th ingredient is ranch or blue cheese salad dressing.  Actually I changed the recipe, it called for 1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese, and after research of other recipes, I changed it to 1/4 cup ranch and 1/4 cup sour cream, just because ranch isn't my fave. I also used canned chicken, which  usually never would, but it was a matter of time and I frankly couldn't tell the difference.  Here is the adapted recipe:

16oz of canned chicken (I bought one big can and one small can)
1/2 cup Franks Wing Sauce (not hot sauce) ( wasn't sure what the originally recipe wanted so I had to make a call, I went for the less intense and I think it was the right call.)
4 oz of shredded Cheddar Jack cheese (any type you like will do), which my measurement was "2 handfuls" (half in mix, half on top before baking)
1 block cream cheese, softened.
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 ranch dressing. 
(most of these could be substituted for low/no fat version, but I went for all the calories!)
Combine and pour into glass dish.  I used a 8X8 Pyrex.  Then sprinkle the other half of cheese on top.

before going into the oven

Stick in the oven at 350 for 20 mins or until it is bubbly.  The original directions say then to broil for 3-4 mins.  I could never get mine to broil and get that nice little brownness on top, so, this is optional. It was still good and a little crusty, all the same.

YUM YUM.  I served with tortilla chips and celery.  It was all gone, perhaps because I probably ate half on my own.

No cost on this one, you know what food costs ;)

#5 Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

#5 Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark
pinned from www.mamasaywhat.com

mmm...mmmm...mmmm..... Do I love "bark"!  This one contained all my favorite elements: chocolate, pretzels, and caramel.  I have never attempted any type or caramel so I was a little weary, but with so few ingredients I thought I couldn't go wrong.  And I have to admit, it was yummy!
I followed the directions to a T:
-foil lined cookie sheet (mama's blog suggested a jelly roll pan... what's that?)
- preheat oven to
- a layer of pretzels

-combine brown sugar and butter over medium hear to make caramel, stir til thick and gooy (takes more than a few minutes).

yummy, bubbly caramel

-pour on top, and throw in oven for 5 mins.
-put chocolate chips on top , they will begin to melt, mama suggests putting it back in the oven for a couple minutes to melt the chips.  I'd say 30 seconds because and this point I think the caramel got a little too "cooked".  It didn't taste bad, but it was almost starting to evaporate. Smear the chocolate around.
- sprinkle sea salt on top
-put in freezer for a couple hours.

-break into pieces.
It was yummy and just like Mama's blog says it melts in room temp, which is kinda a bummer, but oh well! 

The only thing I had to buy was the chocolate chips (I picked semi sweet, because that's my favorite!) so it was a inexpensive dessert.

#4 Glittery Animal Christmas Ornaments

#4 Glittery Animal Christmas Ornaments

pinned from: www.curbly.com

My bf is obsessed with marine life.....  we have season passes the GA Aquarium, we've gotten in the water with the Belugas, and he's swam in the big tank with the whale sharks.  He LOVES them and often feels he's missed his calling to be a marine biologist.  So, when I saw this project, all I could think of was doing a tree of all aquatic creatures for his bedroom. And the search begins....

What scared me was, if you look at curbly's directions, it mentions drilling into the little animals but I was willing to give it a go.  I was happy to find a tube of aquatic animals (brand name: TOOB) that were a softer plastic than what the original post used, but also more expensive at $7.99. (They also had a jungle tube and dinosaur tube.) Then, I went to the hardware store for the eye screws.  Of course I didn't know they were called eye screws and proceeded to make the Home Depot helper laugh as I tried to explain what I wanted, which included me using my hands to show him the loop at the top......

As I sat down to get started, terrified at the idea of drilling into the tiny animals, and a miracle happened.... I found I could hand screw them into the toy animals.... YAY!  Totally worth the extra cost and blister from screwing them in by hand. 

Success, so far!  Next step, spray paint.  I got a blue and a blue glitter top coat.  This part was time consuming just because you have to wait and let the pain dry then flip it over and do the other side and I did 2 coats of the regular blue and one coat of glitter.  I honesty did this over a week because the paint was tacky, which I think was because of the soft rubbery plastic.  I won't lie that I was a little concerned.  But, if finally stopped being tacky when I put the glitter top coat on.


before paint



after first coat

The came out adorable!!!  Too cute!  I can't wait to put them on my 5ft white tree.  The bf questioned the glitter but I think the lights on the tree will set off the glitter nicely, plut it covers up mistakes and finger prints.

the finished product

It looks better than I could have expected and the white tree really makes the animals pop!  I'm happy with the outcome!




Now, I have to be honest, the first time I tried this, I wasn't paying attention to the kind of spray paint I bought, and I grabbed enamel, which never seemed to dry, so I had to start over.....

COST:

TOOB of animals- Michaels $7.99

Krylon Spray Paint (earth blue)- Michaels $4.98

Krylon Spray Paint (sapphire glitter) - Michaels $4.98

eye screws (2 packs of 8)-Home Depot $1.86 ea

Total: $21.67