I may not know who is playing in the Superbowl this year (Does anyone? Have the teams been chosen? Do they even get chosen? How does this thing you call “football” even work?), but I know darn good and well that I’m going to be required to make thirty-seven different appetizers and dips for the game. Oh, yes. My husband had that written into our marriage vows.

“I promise to love you forever ’til death to us part so long as you make me snacks on Superbowl Sunday.”

The wedding guests had never seen a more ridiculous wedding before.

Back to the food! I really think that “dip” should be it’s own food group. Fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, and dip. That’s the way the food pyramid would look if I were the President of Food. Five servings of dip per day. Ah, that’d be the life.

This Buffalo Chicken Dip (also known as “crack dip” because it’s addicting like crack!) is so good. It’s got a good bit of spice, but the cream cheese and the ranch dressing cools it off just enough. This one really is like crack. You won’t be able to stop dipping!

I would like to note real quick that the original recipe called for (gag) canned chunks (puke) of chicken (vomit). Personally, I think that canned meat (blech) is evil and wrong and terribly bad. I recommend buying a rotisserie chicken and shredding the meat with a fork, but if you are brave (and crazy) go ahead and use the (ewwww) canned chicken. I won’t judge you. At least, not out loud where you can hear me.

Also, while I’m being all picky about my ingredients, I should mention that I’m not a fan of blue cheese. I omitted the blue cheese salad dressing and used all ranch and I substituted the crumbled blue cheese for shredded mozzarella.

Finally, I like to serve this with sliced French bread, but it would also be yummy on chips or crackers.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Adapted from Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

• 1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded with a fork
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup blue cheese salad dressing (omit and use 1/2 cup ranch dressing total, if you prefer)
• 1/4 cup ranch salad dressing
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (substitute shredded mozzarella if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce (any hot sauce will do)

Mix together all ingredients until well combined. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers, chips, or sliced bread.

It’s March. That means it’s almost Spring. Spring means warm weather. Warm weather means being able to grill. Being able to grill means I am happy.

The End!

Oh, no, wait. I had more to say.

I just stumbled across a recipe for chicken cooked in a skillet on the stove, but it TASTES like it’s been grilled. Weird, huh? After months and months of being all cooped up in my house without access to my grill, I just had to try it.

The verdict? Why the heck didn’t I try this sooner? It really does taste like barbecued chicken cooked on the grill! But, even better than that, this recipe is EASY! And simple! And quick! You can get it all ready in the morning before work and then just head home and get it cooking. I love recipes like that.

All you need is a pound of chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins, a cup of italian salad dressing, two teaspoons of lime juice and two or three teaspoons of honey. I know, you’re wondering how the heck THAT is going to turn into gorgeous grilled chicken. I don’t know how it does either. I think it’s magic.

The first thing we need to do is slice up the chicken breast into strips. You can buy tenderloins if you like, but there’s just something I don’t like about them. They are stringy and the texture is just, well, not right. So I just slice up my chicken breasts and call it a day. I am using two large breasts for this recipe, which should be just about one pound of chicken. I sliced each breast into thirds.

Set those aside and we’ll make the sauce.

In a small bowl, whisk together one cup of italian dressing, two teaspoons of lime juice and two or three teaspoons of honey, depending on how sweet you want your sauce. After you’ve got that all mixed up, place the chicken strips into a bag and dump the sauce on top. Squish it all up and stick it in the fridge for at least one hour. I mixed mine up in the morning and let it sit in my fridge all day long.

When you’re ready to get dinner started, just drag out a large skillet and turn the heat to low. Dump in the bag of chicken and sauce and let it cook. You’ll want to stir it every 5 minutes or so.

I know, I know. It doesn’t look like that sauce is going to turn into anything but a soupy mess, but it will. Promise.

Let your chicken cook over low heat until it is cooked all the way through. If the sauce is still milky looking, just take the chicken out and set it aside. Keep cooking the sauce, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown and then pop the chicken back in the pan.

Start rubbing the chicken around in the sauce and get every last bit of it covered. The sauce is pretty darn yummy. I’d hate for you to waste any of it.

I don’t know how it happens and, really, I don’t care. This tastes like grilled barbecue chicken. Have I mentioned that I like grilled barbecue chicken?

Grilled Chicken on the Stove
Adapted from RecipeZaar

• 1 lb chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian dressing
• 2 teaspoon lime juice (fresh or bottled)
  
• 2-3 teaspoons honey

Slice chicken breasts into strips and place in plastic bag. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour into bag. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least one hour. Dump into large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until chicken is done and sauce starts to brown. Stir to coat the chicken in sauce.