Super Bowl Buffalo Chicken Dip, Corn & Carrot Chowder, and Behind the Scenes with Patriots Player and Milk Mustache Model, Wes Welker (Podcast #176)

by The Meal Makeover Moms on February 2nd, 2012

It’s not every day you get to meet a professional football player, but last week, we found ourselves at a “secret” location outside Boston where New England Patriots player, Wes Welker, was being photographed for a Super Bowl Milk Mustache ad. You can hear all about our once-in-a-lifetime adventure (plus two new Super Bowl recipes) on this week’s Cooking with the Moms radio show.

Welker appears in the ad with Giants wide receiver, Hakeem Nicks. They are football rivals, but clearly they agree on the importance of a healthy breakfast. The ad’s tagline reads: “The biggest game of our lives deserves the best breakfast. Milk’s got the nutrients we need to start our day off right, and to fuel up to play 60. But sharing the trophy? That’s another story.” Interestingly, Nicks was not at the Boston photo shoot. He was photographed in New York, and the two player images were then edited together!

We’ve done some work for the Got Milk campaign in the past and know some of the folks who help to pull these ads together. We were thrilled when they invited us to the photo shoot … and even more thrilled to find out the featured Patriots player was Wes (yes, we’re now on a first name basis).

During the photo shoot, Wes drank a special milk smoothie to create the signature white mustache. No one but the Milk Mustache food stylist knows the recipe. Kinda cool, don’t you think?

Both players participate in Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school program that encourages kids to eat right and be active for at least 60 minutes every day.

As you may have guessed by now, we’re Patriots fans. And just like most of our fellow New Englanders, we’re caught up the Super Bowl frenzy. What do we do with our nervous energy you ask? We cook. What follows are two new crowd-pleasing recipes you may want to try this Sunday. They’re a lot healthier than the typical Super Bowl party fare but just as fun to eat.

Super Bowl Buffalo Chicken Dip

Makes 18 Servings

Since Bob Kraft owns the New England Patriots, we decided to pay homage to the esteemed football tycoon by creating a Super Bowl recipe using Kraft food products! On the Kraft site, we found a recipe for Philly Buffalo Chicken Dip made with a package of Philly cream cheese, Oscar Mayer deli roasted chicken breast, and Kraft blue cheese crumbles, and we gave it an itty bitty makeover.  We switched to half a package of light cream cheese, added some 0% fat plain Greek yogurt, used our own roasted chicken, and we serve it with lots of fresh, crunchy vegetables.

  • 4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
  • 4 ounces 0% plain Greek yogurt (1/2 cup)
  • 1 generous cup coarsely chopped cooked chicken breast (about 6 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
  • 3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
  • 1 to 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • Dipper options: Carrot sticks, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, whole grain crackers

1. Place the cream cheese and yogurt in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Spread in the bottom of a 9-inch glass pie plate.

2. Place the chicken and buffalo sauce in another bowl and mix together until the chicken is evenly coated. Spoon over the cream cheese mixture. Top evenly with the blue cheese crumbles and the green onions.

3. Microwave until heated through, 2 minutes. Serve warm with your choice of dippers.

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 tablespoons): 35 calories, 1.5g fat (1g saturated), 110mg sodium, 1g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 4g protein (does not include the veggies)

Before our makeover, each serving had 70 calories, 7g fat, 3g saturated fat, and 150mg sodium

Print Recipe

Corn & Carrot Chowder

Makes 5 to 6 Servings

Here in hearty New England, we’re known for our stick-to-your ribs, calorie-rich Chow-dahs. This vegetarian corn chowder is hearty, but we keep the calories and fat in check (without losing the flavor and great nutrition) by using just 2 tablespoons of added fat for the roux, vegetable broth, and 1% low-fat milk. You get 20% of your daily calcium requirement from each bowlful.

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 stalks celery, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups all-natural vegetable broth
  • 2 cups 1% low-fat milk
  • 2 tablespoons sherry wine
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
  • 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and pepper and cook an additional 1 minute.

2. Add the butter and heat until it melts. Add the flour and whisk constantly until smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk the broth, milk, and sherry slowly into the flour mixture. Raise the heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the carrots, potato, and bay leaf and bring back to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the corn and heat through. Season with additional pepper and kosher salt to taste. Serve in individual bowls and top with the Cheddar cheese.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 generous cup): 250 calories, 8g fat (3.5g saturated), 500mg sodium, 34g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 10g protein, 100% vitamin A, 15% vitamin C, 20% calcium

Print Recipe

In last weekend’s Parade magazine, they featured some fun Super Bowl food factoids. Check ‘em out:

> The weekend of the Super Bowl, 1.25 billion (that’s billion with a “b”) chicken wings will be consumed.
> The day of the Super Bowl, 11.2 million pounds of potato chips will be crunched and munched.
> All the guacamole to be made on Sunday could fill the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from end zone to end zone, more than 12 feet deep. (We love guacamole, but even we have to admit that a football stadium filled with guacamole is a bit much!)

For more Wes Welker behind-the-scenes photos, visit our flickr page … and may the best team win!!

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3 Comments | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Poultry, Snacks, Soups/Stews, Vegetables, Vegetarian 

3 Responses to “Super Bowl Buffalo Chicken Dip, Corn & Carrot Chowder, and Behind the Scenes with Patriots Player and Milk Mustache Model, Wes Welker (Podcast #176)”

  1. Ellie on February 3rd, 2012

    This sounds yummy but I don’t see the corn?

  2. Janice on February 3rd, 2012

    Yikes! Can’t believe we forgot to include corn in this recipe. It is now fixed. Hope you enjoy!

  3. Ellie on February 10th, 2012

    Thanks- we made this last night and it was really good! My son who doesn’t usually like potatoes, liked them in this. I didn’t have wine so used apple cider, but I’d like to try it with the wine sometime.

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