Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Buffalo Chicken Dip & Shrimp Nacho Bites - IPAs

I decided somewhat last minute last night to try out two recipes I saw in weight watchers magazine. I am currently doing weight watchers as a means to lose about 12 pounds. I have only been doing it about a week and half and have lost 2 pounds. 10 more to go. As usual I did not follow the recipes 100%, but I'll give you the recipes as I made them.

Shrimp Nacho Bites
Serving Size – 1 bite
Weight Watcher points – 1/bite
Yields 16 servings

½ c shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
3 T light mayonnaise
¼ chili powder
3 oz canned chopped green chiles drained
¼ pound of cooked peeled shrimp, chopped
16 baked tortilla chip scoops (Tostitos)

1. Preheat oven to 450°
2. Combine first 6 ingredients. Spoon 1 t into each scoop. Place scoops on baking sheet
3. Bake for 5 minutes and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Serving Size – 2 T dip & 2 celery sticks
Weight Watcher points – 2/serving
Yields 8 servings

3 oz light cream cheese
½ c finely chopped cooked chicken breast
2 T light ranch dressing
2 T Louisiana hot sauce
3 T crumbled blue cheese
3 T shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
Dash of pepper
Dash of onion powder
3 T crushed baked ridged potato chips (ruffles)
16 Celery Sticks

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl.
2. Microwave 4 minutes.
3. Sprinkle potato chips on top.

We both loved the buffalo chicken dip. It was spicy and didn’t remotely taste like a diet food. I served it with celery, tortilla chips and bread. Went great with all. We felt that the chips on top did not add much dip and I would probably leave them off next time. I also want to play it with it trying some different hot sauces and maybe thinning it a bit, it seemed a bit thick to me as a dip. It would be great with a variety of veggies, crackers, bread and chips. I think it would also go well (without the chicken) as a spread on sandwiches. It would also work well in wonton or chip scoops as a single bite much like the shrimp bites.

The shrimp bites were a little less impressive. The chips actually got a little soggy. I did not feel the mayo added much and probably is what added to the sogginess. The flavors were a little dull to me. I love the concept of putting fillings into the baked scoops. I could see doing this with a variety of different fillings as well as making different types of shells such as wontons or pitas.

I had Stone IPA with my dinner. It went amazingly well with the buffalo chicken dip. The spiciness of the dip contrast well and was cut well with the hoppy nature of the beer. It did not go as well with the shrimp nacho bites as the flavor of the bites was a little more subtle and got drowned out by the strong flavors of the beer.

I have tried Stone IPA a few times. I like it very much while eating. However, not as much as drinking it alone. IPAs are my favorite kind of beer and I generally like them as general drinking beers. However, the strong fruit and hoppy flavors were a little overwhelming for me.

1 comment:

  1. Cool idea for a blog, and I hope to read about some pairings with wheat beers or stouts in particular. ;-)

    ReplyDelete