Buffalo Chicken Bundles with Avocado Blue Cheese Dip

Another Super Bowl over and done with.  For me, the Super Bowl isn't about football, it's about the food.  The only thing I found 'super' was the fact that my belt didn't burst due to the amount of food I shovelled into my big old wazoo.  It's not a party until you're regretting that last bite.  Am I right?

Just because it was the five of us didn't mean that we were going to hold back on food.  I made my SUPER Taco Dip, devilled eggs & wiener rolls (as requested for the two less adventurous peeps among us), homemade potato skins (complete with crisp bacon, green onions and loads of cheese) as well as this new appetizer. 

Let me just say that Brad and I polished off these little bundles of joy very easily.  Oh yes, my friends.  Picture it if you will.  Buffalo chicken wings minus those pesky bones surrounded by pastry and dipped into a heavenly mixture of avocado and Blue cheese dressing.  O-M-G!  So delish!  Brad and I had stupid grins on our faces as we bit into them.  They are that good!

I cannot take credit for the recipe though.  The kudos and praise have to go to Kristin at Iowagirleats.com.   Not only does she make a proverbial touchdown with this dish but she has tonnes of other recipes that I can't wait to try including Caprese Skewers with Balsamic Drizzle and Mini Corn Dog Muffins (which were on my Super Bowl menu but I didn't have enough time to make).  I will admit that I have changed the recipe a tad but that was only because I wasn't paying attention and used more Ranch mix than was called for.   It tasted delish so I kept my change in the recipe below. 

Anyway, as soon as I saw this Chicken Bundle recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to make it for our par-tay.  Blue cheese is my new 'goat cheese' for 2012 (ie. I'm gonna obsess about it!!!) and the thought of a less messy way to eat Buffalo chicken wings was extremely appealing (my 12 year old is addicted to all things chicken wing and can get fairly messy whilst he inhales his favourite poultry).  Needless to say, there are none of these little bundles o' bliss left ... but I do have some of the cream cheese filling and chicken mixture left over so I'll be experimenting with various wraps/quesadillas etc tomorrow on my day off.  Day off?  Oh yes, a quiet house after a long weekend with the family is Super, indeed. :)

Buffalo Chicken Bundles with Avocado Blue Cheese Dip

4oz cream cheese, softened

1 (28g) packet dry Ranch dressing mix, divided

1 large chicken breast (or equivalent in unbreaded raw chicken strips), cut into small pieces

3-4 Tablespoons Buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce)

1 tube Pillsbury crescent rolls

Avocado Bleu Cheese Dip

1 avocado

1/3 cup blue cheese dressing

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 3 teaspoons of the Ranch dressing mix.  Set aside.

Place chicken pieces into a medium bowl.  Add the remainder of the Ranch dressing mix to the chicken and combine well.  In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, cook chicken over medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink.  Place chicken pieces into a bowl and add the Buffalo wing sauce, making sure that the chicken is well coated.

Preaheat oven to 375F and place your oven rack on the lowest level.

Open the crescent roll package and separate them into 4 squares (2 triangles each).  With a rolling pin, roll the squares a bit to make them a little bigger and to ensure that the pieces are nice and square.  Equilateral triangles (yes, we're using math!) and not odd shaped trianges are easier to work with.

Using a pizza cutter (or knife), cut each square along the dotted line between the two triangles.  Also make a cut between the other two corners.  This will give you four triangles.  Do the same with the other squares of dough.

Place a teaspoon-size dollop of Ranch/cream cheese mixture onto the centre of each little triangle of dough.  Top with a few pieces of chicken.  Bring all three tips of the triangle up and over the chicken and pinch.  Pinch along the side seams to keep the filling inside.  If some of the sauce/cream cheese mixture spills out, it's ok.  It'll look great once it's baked.  Repeat these directions for each triangle.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the bundles are golden brown.

While the bundles are in the oven, mash the pulp of the avocado and combine with the blue cheese dressing.  Serve with the chicken bundles while they're still warm. 

Try not to eat them all in one sitting ... or at least pull on some stretchy yoga pants before you dive into this addicting dish.  Your belt will thank you. Inspired by: iowagirleats.com's Buffalo Chicken Poppers with Avocado Bleu Cheese Dip