Valentine's Day Ideas - Day 3: Peanutty Valentine Cookies

Thanks to delish.com, we have day three of our Valentine's Day ideas! And the awesome picture. These peanut butter cookies are so soft and chewy, with a touch of chocolate to top it off. Literally. This is a yummy treat both the kids and adults will love.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine
• 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 c. flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 36 heart-shaped chocolate candies (Dove makes a yummy chocolate heart!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat both sugars, butter, and peanut butter to blended. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Then beat in the flour and baking soda.
3. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons into the cups of an ungreased mini-muffin pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. From from the oven; gently press a chocolate heart into each cup. Cool in pans on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Remove cookies from muffin cups with a butter knife. Serve warm or cool completely on wire racks.

Valentine's Day Ideas - Day 2: Candy Heart iPod

"Friend, you rock." A box of Valentine's Day conversation hearts disguised in cute paper has become a way cute idea for valentines. As kids get older the idea of giving out valentines starts to seem a little babyish for them. They need something cool and fun to give to their friends, so today's recipe is a Valentine's Day craft for the older ones in the family. My twin sister made these for her class at church and they turned out awesome. We have familyfun.go.com to thank for sharing this one! And they received the tip from cool mom Lisa in Grand Island, Nebraska. Go Lisa!

Here's what you'll need (for each box):

• tape
• 2 (14-inch) pieces of string
• 2 mini peanut butter cups
• 1 (1 oz.) box of conversation hearts
• 2 (4-inch) circles of aluminum foil
• 4 x 7 inch strip of pink paper
• glue stick
• sheet of white printer paper or printable scroll wheel and play list

Instructions

1. Tape one end of each piece of string to a peanut butter cup. Tie one end of one of the strings to the other string (as shown above) to make the ear piece splitters. Then tape the loose end to the candy box.
2. Take the circles of aluminum foil and wrap up each peanut butter cup.
3. Wrap the pink piece of paper around the candy box and secure it with a glue stick.
4. Cut paper shapes and write text for the scroll wheel and play list (or go here to download and print from the website - just scroll down to the bottom and you'll find everything!) Use a glue stick to attach them to the box. Write a valentine message on the back of the box.

FYI, my sister used all kinds of cute Valentine's Day paper for these and they looked so cute. So don't feel limited to pink!

Baked Potato Soup

We have Favorite Family Recipes to thank once again for a great recipe! (And thanks to them for the picture!) We've been looking for a good potato soup that has a lot of flavor, and this one brings it all to the table. Again, our family of two adults and a baby cut this recipe in half and we have leftovers.

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 potatoes (baked, peeled, and cubed)
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 tsp chicken bullion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 6 c. milk
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 10 bacon strips, baked and crumbled
  
• 1 can corn, drained
• shredded cheddar cheese (to top the soup)
  

Directions

1. Begin by getting your potatoes and bacon made. I baked the potatoes at about 3 pm and started the bacon right after the potatoes came out of the oven. Here's what I did:

To bake bacon I like to take a cookie sheet and put a cookie cooling rack on top of it. Then I put the bacon over the cooling rack and bake it. This way the grease from the bacon drips onto the cookie sheet. Bake the bacon for about 15 minutes on 350 degrees or until it reaches the color you like.

I used four medium-sized potatoes for this soup (which acutally ended up being too much). To bake the potatoes first clean them, then poke holes in each for ventilation, and put them directly on the oven rack. They baked for one hour at 350 degrees. I let them cool then peeled them. I like some peel on my potatoes in potato soup so I left some of the peel on each one.

2. Time to cook the soup! In a large sauce pan melt the butter on low heat. Stir in the flour and chicken bullion. Gradually add milk and and turn heat up to medium.

3. Add minced garlic and bring to a boil (this takes a little bit of time, since the heat is only on medium). Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes until thick.

4. Remove heat and whisk in sour cream. Add potatoes, corn, and bacon. Mix everything and heat together. Serve in individual bowls topped with cheddar cheese.

Valentine's Day Ideas - Day 1: Heart Brownie Cupcakes

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it. Don't you just love Valentine's Day? Even if you don't have a sweetheart, it's awesome that we have a day set aside every year to express love for those in our lives. For the next couple of weeks I will be posting a variety of ideas for you to make for your sweetheart, kids, friends, etc. that you can use to express some love.


Let's start with a fun cupcake. This recipe comes from Betty Crocker's cupcake book and it's a lot of fun to make.

Ingredients

• 1 box Betty Crocker supreme brownie mix with the pouch of chocolate syrup (Or if you'd like to make a super easy and delicious recipe from scratch, click here.)
• all other ingredients called for on brownie mix box, or from the scratch recipe
• 1 to 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 24 cupcake cups

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups in your muffin pan or pans. Spray each cup with cooking spray.
2. Make the brownie batter as directed on the box or by the recipe from scratch, depending on what you decide to use. Fill each baking cup with 2 tablespoons of batter. (Make sure the tablespoons are level and not heaping.)
3. Bake 24 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out almost clean. (The scratch recipe may need to bake longer, just make sure to check it.) Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then carefully remove the baking cups. Allow the cupcakes to cool upside down about 15 minutes or until they are completely cool.
4. Cut a small heart out of paper, a size that will fit on the bottom of the cupcakes. Place the heart on the bottom of a cupcake. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the heart then carefully remove it. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Stay tuned for more fun Valentine's Day ideas!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, college friends and roommates. This is THE recipe.
When I was a college freshman I received a little plate of cookies from my visiting teachers. They were so good, but I wasn't able to get the recipe from them. I was, however, told by one of the girls that there was a box of vanilla pudding in them. The secret of the amazing flavor for sure! So I went to work and came up with a recipe that has been totally awesome. I made these cookies all the time for a lot of friends, and I've been told often how much they miss those cookies. My roommates also ate a lot of these cookies. One of them had a baking stone that I used for the cookies before getting one of my own.
For a long time I was hesitant to give out this recipe. But I'm really not sure why! This recipe should have been shared with the world long ago. These cookies are so yummy.



In your KitchenAid bowl or a similar-sized bowl combine with a wooden spoon:

• 1 c. butter or margarine, melted (2 cubes)
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (Or mix it up! Sometimes I do 1/2 c. butterscotch, 1/2 c. semisweet. Or you can use white or milk...the possibilities are endless!)

Then add

• 1 large box vanilla instant pudding
• 2 3/4 c. flour

Bake 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees on a greased cookie sheet or ungreased baking stone. (I highly recommend baking cookies on stoneware. They bake a lot more evenly. If you only have a pizza stone, use that! That's what I do and it works great.)

Baked Italian Sausage Rotini

We have our friends at Favorite Famiy Recipes to thank for this recipe! I made this for my husband last night and it is now one of his favorites too. It's a great take on traditional spaghetti and meatballs with a little flare.

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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 pkg (1 lb) uncooked ground italian sausage
• 1 box rotini pasta
• 1 can or bottle of four cheese spaghetti sauce (we used Hunt's traditional and it turned out great)
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 c. mozzarella cheese (divided)

Directions

1. Start by getting your pasta put in the pot and get it cooking. While the pasta is going, roll the sausage into small balls. The picture below is to show what size I rolled the sausage so I apologize for how weird and gross it looks. :)
   

2. Next, in a large saute pan brown the garlic in olive oil. Then add the sausage and cook them till browned.

3. When the pasta is cooked and the sausage is browned, put both in a large bowl (after draining the pasta, of course). Then add the spaghetti sauce, red pepper flakes, and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir everything together.

4. Pour the pasta mixture into a greased 9x13 casserole dish or glass pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Then top it with the last cup of cheese and bake for 5 more minutes.

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Mom's Shepherds Pie

There are endless ways of making a shepherd's pie. Growing up my mom catered to her kids and made her shepherd's pie very kid friendly. Which we all appreciated! Now it's time to pass on the torch to other moms who are looking for another meal that the kids will like. I love my mom and I appreciate that she always tried to make us all happy when it came to dinner time. And still does! She's the best.

from the kitchen of

Rhonda O'Connor

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 - 1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
• mashed potatoes - It will be different depending on what kind of potatoes you use. If you're using instant potatoes in the box you will want to make the 6-7 servings amount. If you're using real potatoes you'll want to bake about 4 good-sized potatoes and mash them.
  

Directions

1. Cook the ground beef in a saute pan and drain the grease. Then add the can of corn. Heat and set on low to stay warm.
2. Make the instant potatoes as directed or mash up your real potatoes. Get a glass 8 1/2 x 11 casserole dish and put the beef mixture in the bottom of it. Then put the mashed potatoes over the beef and spread out evenly. Finally, sprinkle the cheese over the mashed potatoes.
3. If your potatoes aren't hot enough and the cheese isn't really melting you can put the shepherd's pie in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted.

11th Heaven's Homemaker Monday Giveaway

Wouldn't a $100 gift certificate to csnstores.com be totally awesome?

Our friend Jen at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven is hosting a giveaway, celebrating 500 followers on her blog. Quite an accomplishment! In honor of that she is giving away a $100 gift certificate to csnstores.com. This place has so much amazing stuff you can buy: aprons, cookware, kitchen tools, etc. I would love one of these juicers. And it's not all kitchen stuff! They also have home decor, furniture, and other fun things. And you can win $100 worth just by entering the giveaway!

Check out her blog by clicking on the link above. To enter, you can follow the link to her giveaway blog on her blog above or you can click here. Good luck!

Carmelitas

This recipe comes from my friend Abby, who I met when we worked together at a public relations and advertising agency in Salt Lake City. She described these delicious bars as "heavenly", and I couldn't agree with her more! I made them yesterday for the first time and brought them out at a game night at my house with some of my cousins. The pan made about 24 bars and I ended up with 6 by the end of the night. My brother-in-law especially loved them. They are so good! People will be asking for this recipe wherever these bars end up - forever!

from the kitchen of

Abby DeGraff

Ingredients

• 1 jar Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch caramel ice cream topping (Try to get this exact kind. The consistency works so much better! I couldn't find it at Walmart but they had it at Albertson's.)
• 12 oz. (1 bag) milk chocolate chips
• 2 c. flour
• 2 c. oats
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 sticks of butter
  

Directions

1. Combine flour, oats, sugar, soda, and salt in a bowl. Melt the butter and pour it over the dry mixture. Mix it in with a spoon or rubber scraper.

2. Pat half of the mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 17 minutes.

3. Take the pan out of the oven (but don't turn off your oven) and sprinkle a layer of chocolate chips over the top. You will use the whole bag. Then warm the caramel in the microwave for 60 seconds (30 seconds at a time) and pour over the chocolate chips.

4. Top with the remaining dry mix. You won't be able to pat it onto the caramel. The easiest thing to do is to sprinkle the mixture over the caramel till it is completely covered. Put it back in the oven for 17 more minutes at 325 degrees. Allow the bars to cool COMPLETELY before cutting. It helps to put them in the refrigerator after they've had some time to cool on their own.

Chicken Roll Ups

If there were two ways I could describe this dish they would be 1) easy to make and 2) a meal that the kids will love. How much better can you get? My mom made these for us all growing up. In fact, my 28-year-old brother still requests these roll ups for his birthday. They made that much of an impact! Too funny. I started making these for my husband when we got married and he loves them too. I also like how there's nothing too wild and crazy that the kids won't like in these roll ups. They're totally kid friendly. However, I have seen some good recipes with yummy veggies that the adults would like! Now that I've talked them up like crazy I hope your family likes them!

from the kitchen of

Rhonda O'Connor

Ingredients

• 2 cans of crescent rolls (8 count in each can)
• 2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 can of milk
• pepper, to taste

For a lighter dish choose, reduced fat crescent rolls, low fat soup, and fat free cream cheese!

Directions

1. Set the cream cheese out in the morning of the day you'll be using it. By dinner it will be perfectly softened. Sometime during the day you can cook the chicken as well. I prefer to boil it, let it cool, then shred it for this dish. Then I just set it in the fridge till I need it. But you can cook it however you like then shred it.
2. Open the cream cheese and place it in a medium sized bowl. Then add the chicken and mix everything together. Add pepper for flavor.
3. Open the crescent rolls and, one at a time, flatten them out a little and place some of the chicken and cream cheese mixture on the larger end. You can add as much of the mixture as you desire. Roll up each crescent roll starting from the larger end then pinch the open spaces together. You don't want the mixture inside to show or it will come out of the wrap.
4. Place all the wraps on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake according to the time on the can. While they are baking, prepare the soup. The soup will serve as the sauce that goes over the wraps. You will want to use milk instead of water so the sauce is thicker.
5. Place the wraps on plates and pour desired amount of soup on each of them. Then serve. You will want to store the wraps separately from the soup and not pour the soup over them before putting them in the refrigerator. Otherwise they will get soggy.

When I'm cooking this for my husband and I usually make up 8 of the rolls instead of all 16. Then I save the rest of the chicken mixture in the fridge and make more later. Depending on how much mixture you put in each wrap you might not use all 16. Remember to use the largest chicken breasts you have so the mixture will go farther. Or use three medium ones.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

'Tis the season for comfort food. January means cold, and that means soup for dinner. So why not have some comfort food for dinner during this cold month? I love this recipe of chicken and wild rice soup. My mom makes it for our family and we all just love it. Plan on having a warm and cozy family dinner with this soup! This recipe makes a nice big pot of soup. My husband and I half it for just the two of us. And big thanks to our good friends at myrecipes.com for the photo! I've never been very good at photographing soup.

from the kitchen of

Rhonda O'Connor

Ingredients

• 1 c. chicken or turkey (shredded or cubed)
• 1 Tbsp chicken base (If you have cubes you will need 2.)
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 5 2/3 c. water
• 1 small box Uncle Ben's long wild rice (seasoning packet and all)
• 1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables (Your choice - We like the peas, carrots, and green beans mix. You can also add more veggies than this if you'd like!)
  

Directions

1. In a large pot combine water, chicken base, and wild rice. Bring to a boil.
2. After it starts to boil, reduce the heat and cover to cook the rice. Add the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the soup and the chicken. Stir until everything is heated.

This soup is so yummy and comforting to the body and soul. Seriously. If you want to kick this dinner up a knotch, throw in some fresh baked bread to go with it! You can find a great and easy recipe here.

Mexican Lasagna

One of my favorite things about lasagna is how you just have to get a bunch of ingredients together, stack them up in a pan, and bake everything. That's my kind of dinner! But have you ever tried Mexican lasagna? So good! And it takes half the time to bake. Even better! I like this dish because it's a lasagna, but it has that Mexican flare. This recipe is sure to become a family favorite and something the kids will even like to help put together. And they'll like to eat it even more! Thanks to my sister-in-law, Tacie, for this great recipe! It's delicioso!

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(Thanks to recipegoldmine.com for the picture! I would use the recipe from that website for this dish, but this one is just so much more simple. And simple is what I like!)

from the kitchen of

Tacie Barduhn

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 6 corn or flour tortillas (size 10 inches)
• 2 c. shredded cheese (Mexican blend is yummy!)
• 12 oz. chunky salsa
• 1 c. sour cream
• 16 oz. refried beans
  

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef and drain the grease from the pan. Add 1/2 c. salsa to the beef mixture and set aside.
2. Pour 1/2 c. salsa onto the bottom of a 10 inch pie dish. Top it with 3 tortillas, spread half the beans over the tortillas, then half the meat mixture over the beans. Then top that layer with half a cup of sour cream and 1 cup of cheese. Repeat the layers one more time till your ingredients are out.
3. Cover the pan with foil and cook for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Chicken Cacciatore

It's a new year, and that means the majority of us have made a resolution to eat better. So let's kick off the year with a delicious and low fat recipe! Yes, you read that correctly. This chicken cacciatore dish is indeed low fat. Don't let the ingredient list scare you! There are a lot of different herbs and yummy things in this dish. As far as servings go, you will get 6 from this recipe. And thanks to the Better Homes and Gardens cook book for the great photo!

from the kitchen of

New Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Cook Book

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of checken pieces (breast, halves, thighs, and drumsticks)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 - 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 3/4 c. dry white wine (or 3/4 c. chicken or beef stock, if preferred. I use chicken stock for this dish but beef is also very tasty!)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley
• hot cooked fettuccine or linguine (optional)
  

Directions

1. Prepare the chicken by skinning it. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet on medium and cook the chicken for 15 minutes, or until light brown, turning to brown evenly. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet but keep the drippings in the pan. Set the chicken aside.
2. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the drippings in the skillet. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Put the chicken back in the skillet.
3. In a medium bowl combine the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine or stock, sugar, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Pour this mixture over the chicken in the skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat.
4. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink, turning once during cooking. Sprinkle with parsley. If desired, serve over hot cooked pasta.

Question & Answer Day

There's nothing that puts me more behind on daily chores and happenings than having the stomach flu. We were greeted by the stomach flu yesterday morning at about 3:00 and are just now starting to feel better. Our little nine-month-old son is sick today, but at least both his parents are feeling better to help him! Poor little guy.

I decided to make today's post a question and answer post. I've had a lot of questions come through my e-mail inbox or through comments on the blog and thought it would be a good idea to post the answers for all to see. So here we go!

1. What kind of cocoa would you suggest using for homemade cake or brownies? I really like using Hershey's or Nestle Toll House cocoa. I've also used the cocoa that comes in the bulk container at the grocery store. But I like the taste of Hershey's or Nestle Toll House better.
2. Why do eggs need to be room temperature for baking? If you're making cookies, cake, or some other kind of baked item it is good to leave the eggs out to reach room temperature because they give maximum volume when whipping. They also help when mixing the batters together. Cold eggs don't mix into batters as well, which can cause little lumps of butter or other ingredients to appear.
3. Do I always need to run water through pasta when making a pasta dish or can I just drain it and move on? It depends on what you're making. If you're making a pasta dish where the sauce and pasta will be mixed together than you don't need to rinse it. In fact, it's better that you don't because that extra starch on the pasta will soak in the sauce better and make it creamier. But let's say you're making something like spaghetti and meatballs. You'll want to rinse the pasta to remove that extra starch and help it from sticking together. Some like to add a tablespoon of oil to help the pasta from sticking together. I prefer not to, only because your dish ends up being a little more oily. If you rinse it really well under water you should be just fine.
4. Is there something I can do to make my cookies not so flat? Unlike cooking, it is important with baking to follow the recipe exactly. That means making sure everything is measured out and separated by dry ingredients and liquid ingredients as well. After your dough is made, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then go ahead and start scooping the dough out onto the pans. Put the dough back in the refrigerator between baking times.
5. It seems that every time I make a cold pasta salad the sauce or dressing I put on it doesn't seem to have a lot of flavor after I mix everything together. Why is that? It seems like there are a lot of dull-tasting pasta salads out there. Most likely, here's why: When making a pasta salad it is important to mix the sauce with pasta that has just been cooked and not put in the refrigerator to cool first. When pasta cools the starch on the outside almost makes a layer on the pasta that doesn't allow sauce to soak in. When you cook the pasta and drain it, go ahead and mix the sauce and other ingredients while the pasta is still warm. If you have ingredients like cheese or nuts that go in the salad, let the salad chill and add those ingredients right before serving so they don't melt or get soggy.
6. When making fried chicken, how do I know when the oil in my pan is ready to put in the chicken? It's all about the sound when frying. Put the oil on medium heat so it doesn't get too hot. After it has been heating up for a few minutes you can check to see if it is ready to go by taking one of the prepared pieces of meat and dipping it into the pan. Touch the bottom of the pan and listen for the sizzle. If you hear it sizzle, you're ready to go! If there's no sizzle the oil isn't quite hot enough.
7. Sometimes when I make cupcakes they turn out really crumbly and difficult to eat. How do I make them more solid? Depending on your recipe, you can do a couple of things. Instead of the common three eggs you use when making cupcakes from a box, use four eggs. Second, instead of using water, put a cup of buttermilk in the batter. No matter how much water the recipe calls for. These tips are also good for cupcakes if you're building on top of them. You're going to want a strong cupcake if you're planning on putting a lot of ingredients on top of them, and these tips will help you succeed in that.
8. Is it ok to melt the butter or margarine when baking chocolate chip cookies instead of just bringing it to room temperature? Yes. In fact, I'd rather melt it a little bit than keep it at room temperature. The reason is because the liquid helps the different sugars dissolve better and makes it easier to work with the dough. The important thing is to start with a low time on the microwave so you don't burn the butter. Go a little at a time. I like to melt it about 3/4 of the way and then let the rest of the solid pieces melt in what has already been melted. That way I don't take a chance on burning it.
9. I've heard that when cooking with wine the alcohol will cook out of it. I don't want to take the chance on using wine, but I still want to make this dish. What can I use? It isn't always the case that the alcohol is cooked out of dishes made with wine. In fact, more often than not there is still alcohol in the dish. It is safer to use a substitution if you don't want to chance the alcohol in your dish. You can substitute the wine for chicken or beef stock, depending on what you're making, and you'll still get a really great flavor.

I hope these answers help! Feel free to keep these great questions coming!

Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Happy New Year! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.
Speaking of things that are wonderful: this dip is awe. some. I tried it for the first time at a Christmas party this year and couldn't get enough of it. It has a spicy kick to it, yet it's creamy and wonderful. I love it! This recipe makes 4 cups of dip (the same size as the spinach and artichoke dip and the cold spinach dip). PS Thanks to Frank's Redhot Sauce for the picture!

from the kitchen of

Frank's Redhot Sauce

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. ranch salad dressing
• 1/2 c. Frank's Redhot Sauce, any flavor
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 c. shredded cooked chicken

Oven Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese into a baking dish and stir until smooth.
2. Mix in the the salad dressing, hot sauce, and cheese. Then stir in the chicken.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. Stir and serve with crackers, chips, veggies, or bread. Or anything else you want to dip in it!

Looking for another option for making this amazing stuff that doesn't involve your oven? Here are a couple more ways to do it:

Microwave Directions

1. Prepare as above. Place in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for for 5 minutes. Halfway through the microwaving process, stop it and stir. Cook it until it is hot.

Crockpot Directions

1. Combine the ingredients as directed above. Place everything in a small slow cooker.
2. Cover the pot and heat on high for 1 1/2 hours until hot and bubbly. Or heat on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Be sure to stir it!