Buffalo Chicken Dip

From Thomas in Wilmington, Delaware

1 ½ lb. of cooked chicken diced
¾ cup diced onion
1 ½ cups diced celery
2 oz. cream cheese
1 cup of Blue Cheese dressing
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
12 oz. bottle of Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce

Sauté onion & celery until glossy & softened. Add cream cheese, blue cheese & hot sauce, stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add chicken & mix well – add cheddar cheese & mix. Pour into baking dish and bake 30 minutes at 350.

While a senior at Penn State I took an alumni visiting my roommates to the Alabama game with me since they had a Saturday mid-tem – ugh. I had never met him before and he was a bit concerned with my plan to make several gallons of Alabama slammers and visit their tailgates. I explained if they were coming this far for the game they’d probably have a good tailgate. Long story short we had a blast, met a lot of nice people, shared our slammers which were a hit and enjoyed their scrumptious food. Penn State won the game. Tailgating brings people together.

Pumpkin Pie

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
30 min
Cook Time:
50 min

Level:
Easy

Serves:
6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
* 1 cup half-and-half
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
* 1 piece pre-made pie dough
* Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.