Every year the same discussions occur this time of year during the Super Bowl. I hope it is a good game or that the commercials make sense. Will the half time show make you stay in your seat or will you take that opportunity to run to the bathroom? Is the game worth they hype or is it just something you watched because you thought you’d miss something?
I think all of those talking points can also be about Super Bowl food. You want it to be good and worth your time. You hope your munchies are fantastic and you don’t want to skip a dish. (And you really don’t want them making you run to the bathroom!)
My mind goes to the snacks a lot more than probably most folks during the Super Bowl. We don’t really make a big deal about the game since no one in our house is a super fan of the NFL. My goal each year is to come up with a Super Bowl spread that is more interesting than the game. (In our house, we tend to graze during the game and sit and watch the commercials.)
I try to make sure I have some essentials like something that has to be eaten with a tortilla chip like a nacho or a hot spinach dip. There has to be something “piggy” like hot dogs or something wrapped in bacon. And I never forget to include something crunchy and healthy like a veggie tray or a salad cup. (And no, I don’t serve anything fried but I will make a pseudo fried cheese stick or potato skin in the oven to fill that need.)
The big dilemma for me each year is if I also include wings, a chili or a soup to fill us up more and make it more like a meal. It always seems like too much food especially since it is usually the just the two of us.
This year that decision was made for me early. I had gone out to lunch one day and was served a buffalo chicken soup. It reminded me of the cheesy, spicy dip that is a staple at a lot of parties these days.
The restaurant version was good but I think they made it too cheesy and it almost tasted like a thin version of the dip. I wanted to make a soup that had the buffalo sauce zing but also included the classic added flavor of the celery and blue cheese you get to eat when you have wings.
The best part of this experiment was that it was so easy (and could be made in the slow cooker so it would be perfect party food.) The key was to make a “basic” chicken soup base not a dip base.
I simply sautéed equal amounts of carrot, onion and celery. Added some cooked shredded chicken mixed with a small amount of the buffalo sauce, cream cheese, blue cheese and some broth. It cooked all day and came out as not only a great mimic of a buffalo chicken wing in a soup BUT it was probably one of my favorite soups that I’ve ever made!
The two keys were not putting in too much of the buffalo sauce in the beginning. You can splash the bowl with more if you want more heat…you can’t take it out if you add too much. The other thing was effortlessly adding a little chopped celery and blue cheese as a final garnish. It was just enough to make you think you were eating wings without having to lick your fingers. (You may want to lick the bowl!)
If you like sports I hope the team you are cheering for wins if you are like me have fun eating snacks and try this soup….it’ll be a game changer!
Buffalo Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 cup EACH chopped onion, carrots and celery
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
4 ounces cream cheese
1 Tbsp ranch dressing
¼ cup blue cheese
1 pound shredded cooked chicken
6 cups chicken broth
Garnish: finely chopped celery, blue cheese crumbles, celery leaf, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, ranch dressing
Directions
In a medium sauté pan, swirl a little olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) over medium high heat. Sauté the veggies until they start to show a little color and soften a little. (You don’t need them soft because they will cook more in the slow cooker.)
Add the garlic, cook another minute.
Add the tomato paste, cook another minute.
Add to the slow cooker.
I microwaved the cream cheese and blue cheese in a medium bowl until it softened and added the hot sauce. (The ranch was added for a creamy factor you probably could omit it.)
I then mixed it with the chicken before I added it to the vegetables.
When it is fully mixed, add to the veggies in the slow cooker and mix well again.
Slowly add in your broth. (Use some of the broth to rinse out and get everything out of the bowl.)
Cover and set the slow cooker to low for 4-6 hours.
Set up your garnishes so people can put in their own toppings.
- Olive oil
- 1 cup EACH chopped onion, carrots and celery
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 Tbsp ranch dressing
- ¼ cup blue cheese
- 1 pound shredded cooked chicken
- 6 cups chicken broth
- Garnish: finely chopped celery, blue cheese crumbles, celery leaf, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, ranch dressing
- In a medium sauté pan, swirl a little olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) over medium high heat. Sauté the veggies until they start to show a little color and soften a little. (You don’t need them soft because they will cook more in the slow cooker.)
- Add the garlic, cook another minute.
- Add the tomato paste, cook another minute.
- Add to the slow cooker.
- I microwaved the cream cheese and blue cheese in a medium bowl until it softened and added the hot sauce. (The ranch was added for a creamy factor you probably could omit it.)
- I then mixed it with the chicken before I added it to the vegetables.
- When it is fully mixed, add to the veggies in the slow cooker and mix well again.
- Slowly add in your broth. (Use some of the broth to rinse out and get everything out of the bowl.)
- Cover and set the slow cooker to low for 4-6 hours.
- Set up your garnishes so people can put in their own toppings.
