Kitchen

[Baxjaxmom]

Forrestwolf, I feel I owe you a follow-up on my previous post regarding the Chicken Ball and the bad luck I had with it. I was determined not to let that get the better of me so I purchased the ingredients for it again and made it this morning - WITH GREAT SUCCESS!!!! Yeah!!!!

The only possible explanation I can come up with in my mind as to why the first time I made it and it tasting like pure salt is that I simply had the misfortune of picking up a packet of the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix that somehow in going through the assembly line ended up with only salt in it. Otherwise, there is just no other explanation - at least none that I can come up with.

This time, when I opened the packet of dressing mix, I emptied it into a measuring cup and determined there was 3 Tablespoons of product. As I mixed the cream cheese, I started with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the dry mix, mixed it well and tasted it. It seemed a little lacking but I went ahead and added the chicken. When it was all mixed, it still tasted like it was missing something - of all things, the SALTY FLAVOR!!! Anyway, I ended up, feeding the mixture 1/2 to 1 teaspoon at a time and ended up using the entire 3 T / 1oz package of the mix. I continued taste testing it and when finished, I felt like Goldilocks in it being "just right"!!

I just wanted to share this with you because I know you said it had "stumped" you as to what was wrong because of it always turning out consistently correct when you make it and never had it end up tasting like brine. Obviously, nothing was wrong with your recipe or the way I had put it together. It had to be the single packet of Ranch Dressing mix I picked up that apparently was faulty. That is subsequently what caused the results I got.

So, after beating this poor horse well past death, I can now put this to bed and you can know that the problem is solved!! Thanks for your responses in trying to figure out what went wrong with my first attempt!!

I really really appreciate all the other ladies who posted as well in giving suggestions and ideas on what could be the problem. What a nice supportive group of folks!!

Bax