Buffalo Chicken Chili

I know, what is this?!  Buffalo chicken chili on Trust the Vegetarian?!  Alas, sometimes you have to do what you have to do, and this weekend, I had to make some meat.  And watch football.  Two of my least favorite things.  But I must admit, even if I loathe football, I do love going to football parties and spending the afternoon in the kitchen.  I have said it before, but I really am a dream football party-goer because I just want to cook you delicious food and let you lay on the couch and watch!  I think that's why Kenzie invited me over on Saturday, and did all the grocery shopping.  This was a recipe she had pinned and purchased everything she needed, so how could I say no?  Besides making blueberry muffins and soft pretzel bites, I also made this buffalo chicken chili.

I guess the meat part wasn't too terrible because Kenz bought a rotisserie chicken.  My mom ended up doing most of the shredded for me, too, which was awesome.  This whole recipe kind of freaked me out because I am not the kind of girl who shreds chicken or uses ranch packets, but, lo and behold, there I was doing both!  The chicken is flavored with buffalo sauce, a ranch dressing packet, and salsa.  There are even two different types of beans in there, luckily, so you aren't just eating chicken and sauce (although I am pretty sure this group would have been fine with that).  The recipe suggests adding a pint of cream; I stirred in maybe 1/4 cup because it wasn't really necessary.

Besides my mom saying that it was a bit too spicy for her, the carnivores loved the chili.  They liked it served with tortilla chips, but I think it would have been great over rice too.  It's definitely a good football party dish!  Go Patriots?

Recipe:

buffalo chicken chili
from Reasons to Come Home


Ingredients:
4 cups shredded chicken
1/2 red onion, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 bottle buffalo sauce (I used a mixture of 2 different sauces per request!)
2 packages dry ranch mix
1 can chicken broth
1 cup chunky salsa
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

1) Saute the diced onion with olive oil.  Add shredded chicken, ranch seasoning, and buffalo sauce.  Saute for a few more minutes.

2) Add beans, salsa, and chicken broth.  Simmer on low until heated through and thick.

3) Stir in heavy cream before serving.