Cheesy Chicken Jalapeño Popper Dip

Late January. The ranch is as quiet as it gets — the cattle are on winter pasture, the horses are in, the equipment is stowed, and the days are short and gray and cold. I've been doing the morning and evening cattle checks by ATV because the temperature hasn't been above ten degrees since Christmas. The thermos goes in the side pocket, the headlamp in the other, and I go out in the dark at five and come back in the dark at five-thirty and that's the morning.

I've been writing more. The blog posts are coming regularly now — twice a week, which has become the rhythm — and I've started doing something I didn't expect: longer pieces, essays almost, about the relationship between cooking and being outside and what both of those things do for a person who needs to be doing something with their hands. I'm still not writing about the war. I'm writing about the fire. I'm writing about the cast iron at two in the morning and the Dutch oven over coals and what it means to make something with your hands when the alternative is worse. The readers seem to find it. The Wyoming man writes occasionally. A few others.

Two weeks from my parents' anniversary — Patrick and Colleen have been married thirty-six years in February. They don't celebrate it in any recognizable way. They're just still there. Still sitting in their respective chairs. Still having the same conversations they've been having for thirty-six years. Still, in February, Colleen making Patrick his favorite meal and Patrick eating it without much comment. That's what thirty-six years of marriage looks like on the outside. I have no idea what it looks like on the inside. I'm curious about that in a way I haven't been before.

I made white chicken chili this week — the winter version, with canned beans and roasted green chiles from the supply I bought in the fall. It's a lighter chili than the elk, appropriate for January when the elk chili feels too heavy.

The white chicken chili came together in about forty minutes, which is part of why January is its month — I don’t have the patience for long braises when I’m coming in cold from the second cattle check. This dip version captures the same flavors I was working with: the roasted green chiles I put up in the fall, shredded chicken, and enough cheese to make the whole thing feel like a reward. It’s what I’d put out if Patrick and Colleen ever came up in February — something warm in the middle of the table that doesn’t require much comment to be appreciated.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie works well)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, drained (or 3–4 roasted fresh chiles, peeled and chopped)
3–4 fresh jalapeños, seeded and finely diced
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
Tortilla chips, crackers, or sliced baguette for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch baking dish or cast iron skillet.
Mix the base. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika until fully combined.
Add the chicken and chiles. Fold in the shredded chicken, green chiles, and diced jalapeños. Season with salt and pepper.
Add most of the cheese. Stir in 1 cup of the Monterey Jack and all of the cheddar. Mix until evenly distributed.
Transfer and top. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack over the top.
Bake. Bake uncovered for 22–25 minutes, until the edges are bubbling and the cheese on top is melted and beginning to brown in spots.
Rest and serve. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Set out with tortilla chips, sturdy crackers, or thick slices of bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cheesy Chicken Jalapeño Popper Dip — What January on the Ranch Calls For