Buffalo Chicken Dip Lettuce Wraps

After a week of eating entrees as-is (too busy to get creative, my evenings go too fast these days), I felt like having something that usually is a decadent party treat. Buffalo chicken anything is usually pretty damn good. I didn't really start out as a buffalo wing fan, but it has grown on me as it's popularity has grown. I think it is a grown-up love of vinegar.

It took me a bit of thinking and shopping around to find a way to fit buffalo chicken dip into the HMR box, but damned if I won't find a way for anything! I needed something to replace the chips or crackers that it is usually scooped up with, but I really hated all of the crackers I have tried to make with HMR foods. So I settled on a lettuce wrap, though celery sticks would probably be good too, and more traditional.

Ingredients (makes 2 portions):
Chicken from 2 Savory Chicken entrees, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Low Fat/Skim Milk Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp Nonfat Sour Cream
1-3 Tbsp Frank's Red Hot sauce (depending on level of heat preferred)
1/2 - 1 Tsp Ranch Dressing Seasoning (depending on ranchiness preferred)
5-8 Large Leaves of Lettuce

Pull the chicken pieces out of the entrees, rinse and chop it up. Rinse the rice in a strainer and save it for another dish (like my next entry, Vegetable Rice Pilaf!). I went pretty fine on the chop, but bigger chunks might make it a little less dip-like and a little more chicken salad sandwich-like.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and then mix until the cream cheese is fully incorporated. I suggest adding the hot sauce slowly, because it can be deceptively spicy. In fact, the science says (I believe I read somewhere) that spices are less detectable in cold food than in hot food, so once this is heated up it will be even spicier. The 3 tablespoons of hot sauce I put in was pretty spicy. Also, I think eating it on chips or crackers would help temper the heat, where the lettuce really doesn't.

I split the mixture into 2 separate tiny baking dishes so I could cook the two portions individually. Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

When bubbly, remove from oven and scoop into the lettuce leaves. Don't overfill, a little of the chicken packs big flavor in the leaves. The below was made with just one portion, so it goes a long way.

I really, really enjoyed this, and it managed to taste pretty much like the real, full fat and calorie filled thing! I think you could probably even trick a non-HMRer into thinking this wasn't diet food. I think there may have been a bit too much creamy stuff, so I might cut down the cream cheese and sour cream to 1.5 tbsp each on the next go around.

I just had an awesome idea... buffalo chicken dip stuffed mini bell peppers! How awesome does that sound? I might do that with the other half of this... mmmmmm...

Cucumber Hummus

Hummus is a delicious and filling dish, but chickpeas on their own can be pretty calorie and carb heavy. I found this recipe for a version with cucumber blended in, which turned out to be much lighter and still very good.

This recipe is super easy and quick (assuming you have a food processor/blender) and I was able to make it with stuff I already had in the house, no shopping required... Yes, I did have tahini lying around, I suppose everyone might not... but it is also a non-essential ingredient should you not want to buy a jar of it for this one thing.

You will find that I am not big on measuring my ingredients, so sometimes I will include amounts and sometimes not... you can always take a look at the inspiration recipe for exactitude.

-Ingredients-
Canned chickpeas, rinsed (about 2/3 of the can)
Roughly chopped cucumber (about 1/2 of a large one)
2 garlic cloves (I like garlic)
Dried dill, fresh would probably be better
Lemon juice (2 tbsp or so)
Tahini (1 tbsp or so)
Olive oil (a small drizzle, maybe 1/2 a tsp)
Salt & pepper
Paprika to garnish

Throw everything in the blender except the paprika, and blend! Scoop into your bowl and sprinkle with paprika (and a tiny bit extra olive oil if you are a freaking dare devil like me) and serve with vegetable crudites.

I brought this to a family gathering yesterday and it went over pretty well with the whole crowd, including my mother who had never had hummus before in any form.

I think this is a pretty successful snack or side dish. It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it is pretty dern good. It should keep for a few days, and last for a few meals. Four out of five stars, would make again... maybe with lime juice or something!