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Table Of Contents
- Other Great Appetizers
- Where to Find High Quality Meat
- Tired of Unhealthy Choices at Every Social Gathering…
They told me to bring it again.
When my husband’s extended family gets together for holidays, everyone brings food and we eat until we can’t fit through the doorway.
The Thanksgiving and Christmas menus are generally different, but this year, I was ordered to do a repeat.
You know you’ve got a good recipe when people tell you to bring it again.
Every real food cook needs some basic resources that everyone recognizes.
If you have a desire to cook real food more fluently or gain confidence in remaking some of your own processed style recipes using only whole foods, you’ll love the bestselling eBook Better Than a Box.
With 60 ready-to-go recipes and 100 pages of kitchen tutorials, your family will be singing your real food praises in no time. Click HERE for more info on the premium package, including the Kindle version.
Because this is a hot dip, it had to be near an electrical outlet and wasn’t right with the other food. I supremely enjoyed hearing people walk around with their plates, ogling others’ dip and saying, “Where’s that chicken stuff? Where didja get the spicy dip there?”
It’s the best compliment a chef can receive, right?
I originally got this recipe six years ago or so from a friend, but as our family transitioned to real food, it was one of those that landed in the “packaged food ingredients” pile. It had SIX ingredients that came in boxes or cans that I just didn’t purchase anymore.
One day I decided it was just too delicious NOT to try to reverse engineer. It’s in my eBook titled Better Than a Box, the purpose of which is to teach you to reverse engineer your old favorites that use packaged ingredients.
The book will be in three parts: first instruction on how to make recipes into real food, then the recipes I’ve successfully redone, then a section with all the recipes to make the ingredients you’ll need to make your own recipes.
Nobody said real food was easy, but it sure tastes great (and feels great, more importantly!).
I’m pretty excited about it, and I can’t help but share this recipe with you all today. You can make it in time for any parties you might be heading to this weekend and evangelize about how awesome real, whole ingredients can be!
Spicy Cheesy Chicken Dip
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 1 review
- Author: Katie Kimball
- Category: Appetizer
Ingredients
UnitsScale
- 8 oz. cream cheese or 1 c. yogurt cheese, softened
- 2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 1/2 cups homemade cream of chicken soup
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 8 oz. cubed cheddar (any kind, although sharp is always fun)
- 4 oz. jalapeno jack
cheese, cubed - approx. 1/2-1 whole fresh diced jalapeno, to taste
- 1 small onion, chopped (or ~1 Tbs. dried minced onion flakes)
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase) to taste – often needs 1/4-1/2 tsp., especially with homemade chicken broth in the ‘cream of’ soup
Instructions
- Prep the cheese in cubes (or shreds).
- Mix all ingredients in a medium pot (optional: saute peppers and onions first in butter).
- Then set that pot into a larger pot of water (a homemade double boiler, see photo below).
- Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then cook over medium or low heat, stirring often until cheeses are all melted. It does take a while; just plan to have something else to do while you’re in the kitchen.
- Serve hot with homemade crackers. Also good with tortilla chips. I use a mini slow cooker to keep it warm.
- Makes about 6 cups worth, feeds plenty!
Notes
* The chicken needs to be boiled so it shreds well, not just baked chicken breasts. They don’t taste or act the same. A perfect opportunity to use slightly mushy chicken from making homemade chicken stock, if you want my humble opinion.
* The whole jalapeno is frugal for me because I buy in bulk (a quart for a dollar or so) at our local Farmer’s Market in August and freeze them. You can freeze jalapenos without blanching, already diced, simply cut in half and seeded, or even just washed and whole to be cut while frozen, depending on how much time you have in August and how you might use them. Dried chili powder, chipotle or something else spicy would be a possible alternative if you still like a little spice, but not enough to go out and buy a jalapeno.
Where to Find High Quality Meat
Having trouble finding good quality meat locally? Would you like to fill your freezer with local and pastured options?
If you’re in the US Midwest, Chicago to Milwaukee to Detroit to New York, and select cities across the country, check out TruLocalUsa.
If you’re west of the Mississippi, check out Wild Pastures.
If you live in any of the 48 contiguous states, I recommend US Wellness Meats and Butcher Box!
I’m grateful that there’s an online source of incredibly high quality meat that I can always count on. A subscription from Butcher Box includes grass fed, organic, pastured, and free range = all the labels important to your family’s health! And I’ve got a special deal for you!
They almost always have great deals for new customers. Claim your free gifts, and see what bonus they have going on right now. Don’t miss out!
(free shipping too!)
InBetter Than a Box I even include one-pot instructions! My site editor Helen LOVES to use this method – make your “can of soup” then mix everything else in. It’s also great to store jars of pre-made “cream of anything” soup in the freezer, provided you remember to thaw them in time.
Other Great Appetizers
I had a tough time deciding today between this dip and our family’s other favorite dip, a 7-layer Mexican dip that’s already in The Everything Beans Book.Our little family with just two kids can nearly polish off a 9×13 pan of this stuff if we don’t hold back, it’s that good. It includes homemade guacamole and homemade refried beans, plus this creamy layer that makes it the best chip dip I’ve ever met! But you’ll have to grab the book to get it…
If you want to know how to reverse engineer a dip with Velveeta, by the way, just make a basic roux/cream sauce and add cheese and spices to your heart’s content. Mix with already-made taco meat and salsa, and oh, my – you’ll be a real food hero.
- Sweet Potato Garlic Dip
- Tangy Avocado Dip
Click for more real food party and pot luck food ideas!
What do you like to bring when you need a snacky dish to pass?
Tired of Unhealthy Choices at Every Social Gathering…
…and tired of watching your kids eat junk?
I’m happy to be able to offer you this free ebook with:
- 10 whole foods recipes that won’t break your budget
- Well-tested appetizers, salads, and desserts that every guest will recognize and enjoy
- Practical strategies for sharing healthy food with others
- And the valuable secret to getting kids to eat real food in the face of a rich buffet spread…
Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.
Category: Real Food Recipes
Tags: appetizer, cheese, chicken, chicken stock, Mexican, onions, party food, peppers, soup, sour cream, yogurt cheese
