Buffalo Celery Sticks

I do my best to eat healthy.  For me, healthy means eating meat sparingly and knowing where it came from and how it was raised, using whole grains, eating local and organic, and cooking from scratch.   My food ideals, however, are a more recent phenomenon largely encouraged by my foray into motherhood.   In college, I was all about the french fries. 

I spent my entire college career eating out - some good food, some crap food.  Some of my favorite memories involve a lot of Buffalo Hot Wings.  I can remember making many late night treks on foot from the dorms down the big hill, without any thoughts of how hard it was going to be climbing back up that excessively big hill, to get our fill of hot wings before the only pizza shop in town closed.  Before attempting the hike home, we'd sit on the curb and eat the very hottest hot wings until our tongues were numb.

Ah, the good ol' buffalo wing days.

These days I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to incorporate more spinach into our meals.  Not that I have a problem with some hot wings every now and then, but let's be honest, it's not quite the same.  I'm the only one in this house that would enjoy hot wings and late night curbside eating is best done with company.  So, I came up with a Mom-Version of my favorite midnight college snack, Buffalo Celery Sticks.

They are quick, easy, and a little more healthy than your favorite wings.  Surprisingly, they do a darn good job of satisfying my spicy buffalo cravings.  I thank Martha Stewart for the inspiration, my kids for preventing me from heading to Dominoes at 10 pm, and my dear friend Lauren for accompanying me down that big hill all those years ago.

2 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)

1 cup blue cheese crumbles, divided

8 large celery stalks, washed and cut in thirds

cayenne pepper and/or your favorite hot sauce (I used Cholula)

Using a wide knife or large spoon, combine together room temperature cream cheese and ¾ cup blue cheese crumbles.  Mix until well combined.  Fill each celery stick with mixture, then top with remaining ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles.  Sprinkle with cayenne pepper, or drizzle with hot sauce.  Yum!