Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups

The NBA playoffs have been going on for the past few weeks and Seth's favorite team is still in the running. This means that for about three hours every other night, I don't see or speak to him. Don't get me wrong - I like sports. Some sports. I enjoy watching football - both American and soccer. But to be honest, my interest in sports doesn't really go far beyond my interest in what we'll be snacking on during the game. I love, love, love game day snacking. Even though I don't really care about the games, the snacks just seem to taste better.

Last night was another game night, so when Seth told me his brother and girlfriend would be coming over to watch the game I seized the opportunity to try some new recipes. We decided on some classic Guacamole (Seth's specialty) using cilantro and jalapenos from our garden, hot spinach and artichoke dip, and something with buffalo chicken (my favorite snack).

For the "Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip", I used the recipe from SkinnyTaste.com. It was super easy to make and it turned our really well. I'm not sure how it differs from a non-skinny recipe because I've never made any version before, but this didn't taste "skinny" at all. I realized later that I forgot to add the salt and pepper, but it still tasted pretty delicious!

Like I said, buffalo chicken is one of my favorite snacks/meals. I love everything buffalo - grilled buffalo chicken sandwiches, buffalo chicken cheesesteaks, buffalo wings, boneless buffalo wings, buffalo chicken dip...you get the idea. Buffalo chicken dip is easy to make, but you need a vessel for eating it and that's usually bread or chips. I wanted to do something a little lighter. I got the idea to make buffalo chicken bites using wonton wrappers from a Buffalo Chicken Cupcake recipe at Emily Bites and then I modified it using my own recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle Buffalo Sauce (I used Frank's)
3 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (sharp, mild, low-fat, whatever you like)
3 oz. cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
2 lbs. of oil (I used sesame)
wonton wrappers (pack of 48, I used about 40)
ranch dressing for dipping

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing sauce is the best. I found Nasoya wonton wrappers 

in the produce section of my grocery store.

Place thawed chicken in a crock pot and cover with about 1 cup of the Buffalo Sauce. I used more, but you can keep adding it along the way to suit your taste. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Once the chicken is cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken. You can turn your crock pot to "warm" at this point. Add the shredded cheddar, cream cheese, and extra buffalo sauce (if you want) and mix until the cheese is melted and well combined. To make the cups, press the wonton wrappers into cupcake pans the same way you would with a cupcake liner (one wrapper per cupcake hole). Brush each wonton with a little bit of oil. Put them in the oven (mine was set to 350 F) until they are slightly brown and crispy. Put all of your wrappers on a platter, fill with buffalo chicken mix, and top with onion and celery. I served the ranch dip on the side.

They were really tasty and they turned out super cute! Everyone loved them. I'm not a health expert, but I don't think they're awful as far as typical party snacks go. I used a lot less cheese than other buffalo chicken dip recipes I've seen. The vegetable toppings also gave a good fresh, crisp taste.  I will definitely be adding this recipe into my party foods rotation!