Updates! And Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe!

Obviously, I am pretty behind on my blogging. I was going through my pictures last night, and I noticed that I never posted pictures of the Superbowl, or the pics/review that I had originally promised from when I went to the new sushi restaurant in town. Sorry! I also have a recipe that my friend Heather sent me that I wanted to post. I'm not planning on posting much (if at all) while we are on vacation, so I am going to try to catch up and give you some interesting posts in the next week or so to make up for it. Because I am going to the sushi place again tonight for dinner, I thought I would wait to publish that post until after tonight (you know, to give you a richer, better experience. Or whatever). And I wanted to post Heather's recipe with another variation...and preferably some pics. So - today I will post some pics from Superbowl, and give you an update on life in general. Lucky you!

Superbowl:
I hosted the Superbowl this year...it was pretty low key, just Steve and I, Tara and Eli, and Gina, Michael and their two kids. If I remember correctly, we had buffalo chicken dip (have you had this? I will post the recipe. It is sooo good, and sooo bad for you), guacamole, stuffed mushrooms and bacon-wrapped jalapeno thingies (both from the PW website) as our major food groups. Along with refreshments, of course. I didn't take enough pics of the food, but here are a few of the celebration:

 

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies - these are delicious. Click on the link above to go the recipe on PW's website

Tara

Gina and Renee, preparing the kiddies dinner (because evidently toddlers don't like jalapenos??? kidding)

Cam, sporting one of my shoes

Eli and Cameron. Does Gina have the cutest kids on the planet, or what?! (You are cute too Eli!) Cam totally wasn't giving me the time of day, but he loved Eli.

From left to right: Eli, Kempton, me, Steve. This was the last quarter of the game...we were FULL and just kickin it! Evidently I didn't get any pictures of Michael :( I'm sorry Ski! I will do better next time!

Buffalo Chicken Dip Yumminess:

You can curse Stephanie for this recipe...she brought it to a work function a few years ago and introduced it into our lives. It's probably the reason why we are friends. And the reason for her existence. HA!

• 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast. You can use 2 large cans of pre-cooked chicken instead, but it makes me unhappy, so I try not to.
• 1 cup of ranch dressing 
• 1 cup of Franks Original Red Hot (do not substitute this please)
• 1 8 oz block of cream cheese
• 1 package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups) 
• Whatever you want to dip...I use Fritos Scoops and celery sticks 

 Boil your chicken breasts until cooked all the way through and pre heat the oven to 350. Remove chicken to a plate and let cool - then shred it with two forks, or if you are lazy (like me), just cut it into small cubes. In a big bowl, mix the chicken, ranch, Franks, and cream cheese together (if you want, you can use a hand mixer and mix the ranch, Franks and cream cheese until smooth...then stir in the chicken). Then, I mix in half of the cheddar cheese, put mixture into an oven safe casserole dish (I have a round glass one I like) and then put the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 350 until the cheese is bubbly. OMG - I am so hungry for this right now. It would totally blow my diet though. Enjoy!

Ok - now that we got that over with...what else were we going to talk about today? Oh yeah, ME! My favorite subject...kidding! ...kind of...

I am feeling better - over my cold pretty much. The not smoking is going fairly well...it is difficult but becoming easier (today is my 11th day without a cigarette). Getting excited for my Birthday and vacation...

Did I tell you that my yoga instructor quit? Yes, possibly because she was admitted to a psychiatric facility (I'm joking - that was mean, sorry)...so I joined a different class...this one at a real yoga studio (instead of through community ed), it starts after I get back from vaca. I still haven't struggled through that self help book I was telling you about. It is starting to get a little easier reading (as long as you look at it objectively), but it was still kinda painful so I bailed on it for now and started reading the Twilight series for the 4th time. I know - I have a serious problem. I'll pick the self help book back up again when I am done with the Twilight series (I am half way through book 3 again right now), and give you updates. I probably won't take it to the beach with me though, because people might look at me funny if they see me reading a book titled "There is nothing wrong with you" (funnier than usual, I mean).

Steve has been feeling really good - it's crazy how much that chemo takes out of you. I mean, he was feeling better after a couple of weeks...but he is finally now just starting to feel 100%, as far as I can tell (and his last round was almost 2 months ago). He has his next surveillance appointment in April, I believe, so we will keep you posted!

Look for my Hanabi post and some serious food posts in the next few days. Goodbye for now!

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