Sausage Nacho Cheese Dip

This is an amazingly simple but delicious dip...though this would make a really interesting burger topping.  I do love the quick and easy dip recipes.  I found this one on a pack of Jimmy Dean Sausage.


Sausage Nacho Cheese Dip

1 lb pork sausage
1 can  condensed nacho cheese soup
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 can chopped chilies
8 oz cream cheese
chopped green onions

Brown sausage in a large saucepan.  Drain.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir over medium heat until everything is melted together and smooth.  Serve with chips.

Mint Chocolate Chip Dip

Psssst.....The dip is really just a flavored frosting but the mint flavor makes it outrageously tasty. A fun treat that mixes up in a flash.


Mint Chocolate Chip Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp mint extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in mint.  Mix in powered sugar. Spread mixture on serving dish and top with chocolate chips. Serve with animal crackers or teddy grahams.



And for more mini cake fun...I cut a chocolate cake into small squares, iced it with the beloved mint frosting, and glazed the whole shebang with chocolate. A sprinkle of mini chips and it's ready for nomming. I'll need my favorite fork and some alone time.....

Apple Salsa

I was so tickled with the mango salsa I decided to make an apple version....so tasty.  Apples are one of my favorite fruits....I had to show them some love.  ;)  I used Pink Lady's, but I'm thinking some Granny Smith would be interesting too.


Apple Salsa

2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (Pink Lady's)
4 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 anaheim pepper, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
3 tbls lime juice
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl.  Serve with chips.

Mango Salsa

This is one fast, easy salsa....bonus points for being healthy as well.  ;)

I've seen several wonderful mango salsas recently, but sadly I didn't bookmark them.  I used this recipe after a little Google action.


Mango Salsa

1 mango, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
1/2 cup seedless cucumber, diced
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1 tbls lime juice
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix everything together in a small bowl.  Serve with chips.

Beer Cheese Pizza

This dish is a bit of a saltfest, but a tasty one.  Beer and Kielbasa....a combination made in heaven.  I had leftover beer from making the cheese so I tossed it into the pizza crust for fun.....spread the beer love around.

The beer cheese does stiffen up quite a bit when chilled.....let the pizza's sit for 15 minutes or so at room temp before serving.


Beer Cheese Pizza

Crust:
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm Newcastle brown ale
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milled flax
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tbls vital wheat gluten (optional)

Toppings:
Cherry tomatoes, sliced
Turkey kielbasa, sliced thin
Roasted Poblanos, cut into strips
Roasted Onion, cut into strips
Beer Cheese (I did add 2 roasted poblano peppers to the mix and 1 tsp hickory bacon salt)

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water from the tap. Stir in ale, oil, honey, and salt. Mix in flax, wheat germ, and gluten. Mix in flour gradually. When the dough gets too stiff to continue stirring pour it out onto your work surface and knead in the remaining flour. Continue kneading for 8 minutes or so. Dough should be nice and elastic.

Divide the dough into two portions.  Drop one portion of dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Work it with your fingers into a large round or rectangular shape.  Repeat with other portion of dough.  Let rise in warm place for 15 to 30 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 18 - 20 mins or until crust is lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.

Spread beer cheese across the two crusts.  Spread toppings over cheese.  Slice into pieces and chill until ready to serve.

Avocado Dip

I ran across this cool dip over at The Jey of Cooking.  Nice and healthy with a great mix of flavors.  The only thing missing was some jalapeno peppers for a little heat chaser....I'll add them in next time.  I swapped out kiwi for the mango in the original recipe...I already had mango in another dip for the same gathering.


Avocado Dip

2 avocados
1 apple, diced (Pink Lady)
2 kiwi, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tbls diced garlic
2 tbls lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste

Mash avocados with a fork before transferring to a bowl.  Mix in remaining ingredients, combining well.  Serve with chips.

Nutella Cheesecake Dip

This sweet dip is based on a recipe I ran across over at The Boys Made Me Do It blog.  A tinker here and a tinker there....toss in some of the glory that is Nutella....perfection!  This is ridiculously good.  Seriously...very hard to resist just diving right in with a spoon....or finger.  Ahem.  Serve with pretzels, vanilla cookies, or even gingersnaps.  Some Ritz crackers might make a fun dipper as well.


Nutella Cheesecake Dip

1/2 cup tub margarine, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 8oz packages reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp rum extract (vanilla would also be fine)
1/2 cup Nutella

Stir together melted margarine, brown sugar, and rum extract.  Microwave 30 seconds.  Let mixture cool.

Mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add in melted margarine mixture and Nutella.  Chill.  Serve with pretzels, cookies, or crackers.

Mediterranean Layered Dip

Food Snob St. Louis made a Greek layered dip that looked so yummy.  I really liked the concept.  I do so love dips that are different from the usual staples.  It's a huge bonus if the dip is on the healthier side of the fence.  ;) 

I thought a layer of ground chicken (ground turkey or beef would work as well) flavored like my usual adana kebabs would be really tasty....and it so was.  Nom, nom!  I will definitely be making this again.

This dip is super quick to put together.  I actually bought a package of hummus this time instead of making my own....I feel quite slackerish over that, but I was pressed for time.  ;) 


Mediterranean Layered Dip

Adana Kabob Flavored Chicken

2 lean chicken breasts, ground
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup dry parsley
1 anaheim pepper, diced
1 tbls diced garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cajun seasoning

Cook chicken, onion, pepper, and garlic in a skillet until onions are translucent.  Mix in herbs and spices and continue to cook until chicken is done.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Feta
Sliced Black Olives
Tzatziki
Hummus
Cucumber, diced

In a deep plate or 8x8 pan, spread the hummus.  Layer the cooled chicken across the top.  Spread the chicken mixture with Tzatziki.  Sprinkle on the olives, feta, and cucumber.  Chill until ready to serve.  Serve with pita chips, crackers, or bread.  Nom!

A picture before the dip fest began.....

This dish made more than I was expecting.  Thankfully I had started out with a deep plate.  ;)

Beer Cheese

Beer Cheese....who could resist trying out a recipe with that title?  ;)  Grazing in the Bluegrass posted this recipe and I had to give it a whirl.  I took some liberties with it of course.  Don't let the modest appearance fool you....this is a great dip.  I was pressed for time when I was putting this together so I'm pretty sure I took the most unimpressive picture ever. 

I think I would add in roasted peppers or possibly some bacon next time to experiment a bit with the flavor.  This dip would also make a fabulous filling for poppers or mushroom caps.  The texture would lend itself nicely to piping from a pastry bag.  I always turn to cream cheese for my spreadable cheese concoctions, but this opens up some more options.

A word of caution.....you want the dip around room temperature when you let the guests dig in.  It will resist dipping and spreading when it's chilled....learned that one the hard way.  ;)


Beer Cheese

16oz Sharp Cheddar, cubed roughly
1 tbls diced garlic
1 1/2 tbls Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tbls Choulala hot sauce
1/2 cup beer (I used Newcastle Brown Ale)

Put your cheese cubes into a food processor to break them down into small chunks.  Add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and hot sauce.  Add the beer gradually while continuing to beat the cheese. It should become of a firm but spreadable consistency. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Mexican Caviar

I found this great appetizer recipe over at justjennrecipes .  It's a wonderful combination of ingredients and I'm tickled to add it into my snackin' rotation.  ;)  It's a fairly healthy dip too...which is a nice bonus. 

I tweaked a bit here and there, but I didn't change much.  Next time I will use chopped black olives...I had sliced in the cabinet and I didn't think to give them a rough chop.


Mexican Caviar

1 tbls spicy olive oil
1 tbls red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Cholula hot sauce
1 can no salt added petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup corn
1 small can sliced black olives
3 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 tbls diced garlic
1 tsp lime
1/8 tsp cajun seasoning
1/8 tsp ground pepper

Mix together the diced tomatoes, corn, black olives, jalapenos, avocado, and garlic.  Add olive oil, vinegar, hot sauce, lime, cajun seasoning, and ground pepper to vegetables.  Mix everything together.  Chill in the fridge a few hours or overnight to let the flavors blend together.  Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Salsa

This dip turned out quite zesty....I was pleased.  It's probably not usual to grind the roasted veggies in a food processor, but I wanted all my flavors to really blend together.  I used the second can of diced tomatoes to return a bit of chunky texture to the final mix.  It was kind of a cross between my mole sauce and salsa really.

The sauce ended up quite a dark color....but that will happen when you have a ton of peppers and cilantro...ehehehe.  Hmmm.....I bet this would make an amazing pizza sauce....but then I think just about anything would make a neat pizza sauce.  ;)


Salsa

1 sweet onion
1 banana peppers
3 ancho peppers
6 jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tbls diced garlic
1 14 oz can no salt added petite diced tomatoes
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp Mrs. Dash chipotle seasoning
1 tbls sugar*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 14oz can no salt added petite diced tomatoes, drained

Slice up peppers and onions and roast under the broiler for about 10 minutes, until they have a nice color. Toss roasted vegetables into food processor with garlic, cilantro, and tomatoes and grind until relatively smooth. Transfer mixture to a saucepan adding in all remaining ingredients except the second can of drained diced tomatos and stir well. Over medium heat bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or so. Stir occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in drained petite diced tomatoes.  Serve with tortilla chips.  Dip away!

*Instead of using sugar I tossed in a pack of Truvia.

Cilantro Pesto

It's sooooo greeen.  I adore the color of this pesto.  Adore it!  It turned out a bit thick though, but it's easy enough to thin out to the consistency you are looking for.  I've always wanted to try out a pesto with cilantro and it is quite delicious.  Oddly enough the hubby says it tastes like our hummus....I'm still boggling over that one.  ;)


Cilantro Pesto

2 cups cilantro
1 sweet onion
1 banana pepper, seeded
1 tbls diced garlic
2 tbls olive oil (spicy if you have it)
1 tbls unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
1 tbls lightly salted cashews
1/4 cup goat cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp coarse salt

Slice the banana pepper in half and place on a cookie sheet or foil.  Cut the onion into slice and add to the pepper.  Broil in the oven for about ten minutes, at 425 degrees.  Throw the roasted vegetables, and everything else into a food processor and chop until smooth.  Add to pasta, pizza, ect.

Mexican Chicken Dip

I ran across the idea for this dip on the Taste of Home website.  I love dips that are a little unusual and this one fit the bill nicely.  I used some thin pizza crust as dippers here, but tortilla chips work just as well.  You can serve this dip hot or cold....which is quite nice when it has to travel.


Mexican Chicken Dip

8oz reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 cup taco cheese
3 tbls hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup ranch dressing
mexican shredded chicken
1 tsp bacon salt

Mix together all the ingredients until well combined. Heat in the microwave for about a minute to melt the cheeses together.  Serve.

Hummus

I haven't made hummus in quite a while so I had a yen to whip some up. The color the hummus ended up did make me giggle a little....not the prettiest thing in the world to be sure rofl. I am thinking heavier vegetable content....with roasted vegetables next time. There are just so many variations you can do with this dish....leaves tons of room for fiddling around. ;) You can of course use canned beans and chick peas if you are in a hurry instead of dried....I'm not too fond of the extra salt content though.


Hummus

1/3 cup dried chick peas
1/3 cup dried black beans
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 sweet onion
1 anaheim pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbls lime juice
2 tbls diced garlic
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp peppered bacon salt

Rinse and soak your chick peas and black beans overnight in water. Drain the chick peas and beans. Toss them into a covered sauce pan and cover with at least an inch of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Drain and let cool. Put the chick peas and black beans in a food processor along with all the other ingredients and process until smooth. Chill for an hour or two before serving to let the flavors meld together. (Though of course you can eat immediately if you are in a hurry.)

Roasted Vegetable Spread

After I made the Tzatziki I realized a Greek yogurt base makes an awesome jumping off point for a dip or a sandwich spread. And lo' the experimentation has begun. My beloved hubby is of course my official taste tester....ehehehe. It's a tough job but he does the needful. ;)

Now you don't have to use Greek yogurt....you can use a standard plain yogurt if you need to. Your end result is going to be thinner. You could also drain off some of the whey from standard yogurt in a pinch to thicken it up...but I try to avoid those extra steps. Quick and easy is the way I like it.


Roasted Vegetable Spread

8 oz non fat plain Greek yogurt
2 Anaheim peppers
1/2 small zucchini
1/3 sweet onion
1 tbls diced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbls lime juice
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp peppered bacon salt

Slice up the peppers, zucchini, and onion into smallish sections. Roast under the broiler for about 10 minutes or so until you are happy with the color. Toss the roasted vegetables into the food processor or blender with the garlic and blend until fairly smooth. Let the mixture cool. Mix together all the remaining ingredients. Stir in the cooled vegetable puree. You can use immediately, but it always better to chill for a couple hours if you can to let the flavors mesh together. Nom!


A couple pics of the process...
I should have cut the zucchini thinner actually to get a better roast....which I will do next time. I am not the most patient person so I declared them good enough. ;) If you are using cloves of garlic you can roast them along with the other vegetables. My garlic is already diced so that's a no go for me.


Roasted vegetable puree....it was fairly thick and smooth which is the texture you are looking for. Ehehehe.....just ignore the skerry green color. Reminds me off this meatloaf I made once with that green ketchup they had out back in the day. Talk about a dish you had to eat with your eyes closed. I have a sudden yen to watch the movie Better Off Dead now.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

The perfect answer to the insanely hot temperatures the last few days has been chicken salad sandwiches.....cold food...it was a must. There may have been fudgesicles involved as well (no sugar added variety....I know I know....I feel like I've sullied my childhood buying that version too ehehehe). I haven't made chicken salad in a looooong time. Mayo we rarely use, if ever. You can buy the light version where the fat content is lower...but the serving size is 1 tbls and it's still quite salty. Have you tried to make a chicken salad while skimping on the mayo? It's pitiful. Sure I could fill in with some non fat sour cream, but it's also quite salty. Anywho, I went in a new direction with this chicken salad....quite pleased with how it turned out.


Chicken Salad Sandwich

Hamburger Buns or your preferred bread
Tzatziki
Cooked chicken*
1/2 Stalk of celery, diced
1/8 cup sweet onion, diced
black pepper, to taste

Mix up your tzatziki. It's better to make this in advance so the flavors can meld, but you can use it instantly....it mixes up very quickly as well. (One recipe of tzatziki makes 3 to 4 good sized sandwiches...depending on how moist you like yours.)

Mix together cooked chicken, celery, onion, and black pepper. Stir in your desired amount of tzatziki....tucking the leftover into the fridge for future sandwiches. Pile chicken salad onto bread. You can toss in a few extra's like cheese and bacon of course. Nom!

*I just boil a couple chicken breasts, shred them, and store the meat in the fridge to be used as needed. Generally I make chicken broth at the same time...but then I like to multitask. ;)

Tzatziki Dip

This is a simple and healthy Greek yogurt dip I ran across on Spark People. I do love browsing that site for recipes....they have some great ones up in there. I'll have to play around more with yogurt dips...so much easier to keep the salt and fat content down with yogurt as a base. Normally I do not buy actual Greek yogurt, but the thicker texture lends itself nicely to a dip.

Tzatziki

One small container non-fat plain Greek yogurt (around 6oz)
1/2 peeled Hothouse cucumber
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbls lemon juice
1 tbls diced garlic
3/4 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp salt

Take the peeled cucumber (scrape or cut out any seeds if necessary) and grate finely. Press the grated cucumber into a fine mesh sieve to drain out as much as the liquid as possible. Pat with paper towel to eek out any remaining liquid.

In a bowl mix together the grated cucumber and all the remaining ingredients. Stir until well combined. Chill for a couple hours to let the flavors meld together. Dip and nom!

Pad Thai Dip

This dip came out beautifully, better than I hoped for actually. It may not look like much, but it is packed with flavor. I was tired of the usual round of spinach, artichoke, and taco dips. I wanted to try something a little different with a little more meat to it. So I took about 1/3 of my pad thai recipe and combined it with a tub of reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese which had been warmed in the microwave. That simply the dip was done. Serve warm with crackers or chips.