Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

My second big girl job was in Burlington, Iowa where literally everything had a buffalo sauce type spin on it. The iconic dish of the area was Chicken Lips, AKA butterflied chicken breasts fried and covered in buffalo sauce. Pot lucks in the office were spearheaded by our boss’ chicken lip dip recipe, which I inherited and carried on for the office until my own eventual departure. This is that recipe, the buffalo chicken dip that got me through some hard times. I’ll always refer to it as Chicken Lip Dip til the day I die, but no one else in the entire country other than people who once lived in that beautiful town call it that.

Since then, I whip it out for myself when I need comforting food that takes me back to a really nice period of my life. It’s perfect for the modern world where many of us are getting vaccinated and can set up card game nights or backyard BBQs again with our friends. May it serve you well in all the parties to come!

Ingredients:

• 1 10oz Can of chicken breast
  
• 1 cream cheese block
  
• Hidden Valley Ranch
  
• Frank’s Red Hot
  
• ½ cup Shredded Cheddar
  

1. Open and drain your can of chicken. Drop into a nonstick medium saucepan or a nonstick small skillet. Break down the chicken into small shreds with a wooden spatula or a silicone spatula.
   
2. Drop in your block of cream cheese and break down with your utensil into smaller, easier to melt pieces. Allow to melt in the pot and incorporate with the chicken.
   
3. Begin adding your ranch. I start with about ¼ cup of ranch. It needs to be Hidden Valley for the ideal results, but you can substitute whatever you have. Stir into your cream cheese and chicken mixture. If it appears too thick, add more ranch. Mix to combine as you chase ideal consistency.
   
4. Add hot sauce to taste. This is very subjective. Taste frequently to reach your ideal Buffalo Sauce Zone. You want the dip to take on an orange color from the sauce, but if you’re spice sensitive like me, go light. Mix to combine.
   
5. Add ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese and mix to combine. Pre Shredded cheese is ideal for this application to stabilize the dip. There’s a can of chicken for god’s sake, you don’t need fancy cheddar.
   
6. Serve with your preferred type of tortilla chip and enjoy.
   

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