Caprese Pizza Dip - from Susan

Susan brought this wonderful dip to our Sunday School get-together this weekend!  We decided we liked it with tortilla chips, and it's best if it can be kept warm.  This would be a great appetizer for a Greek dinner, and the tomatoes make it perfect for summer-time!

(Photo from us-masala.blogspot.com)

Caprese Pizza Dip

Ingredients:

1 pint/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temp
10 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup + 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup basil leaves, chopped roughly
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of dried oregano

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.   Place tomato halves on top.  Drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil and salt, then bake for 12 – 17 minutes.  Take out of the oven and set aside.  While tomatoes are roasting, mix softened cream cheese with mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan.  Stir in fresh basil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper – mixing well to combine.  Place the tomatoes at the bottom of a baking dish, top it with the cheese mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan, drizzle 1 tbsp oil on top.  Bake for 20 – 22 minutes, or until top is golden and bubbly.  Serve immediately with crackers, chips, or toasted crusty bread.

Hot Corn Dip - from BLC

My friend, BLC, of The Company She Keeps has made this recipe several of the times we've gotten together recently.  It's so good and always goes really fast!  This is a perfect appetizer to take to parties - so delicious!

 

Photo from bakedbree.com

 

Hot Corn Dip

(from Bakedbree.com)

 Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon jalapeno, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• tomatoes
• green onions
• cilantro
• tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Put the cream cheese, jalapeno, garlic powder, chipotle powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix together until well combined. Add the corn. Mix until everything is combined. Add 2 cups of the cheese and stir until combined.
2. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Pour corn into pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and it is hot all the way through. Top with chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, and cilantro. Serve with chips.

Sun-dried Tomato Spread

Last night I got together with some of my favorite friends for a clothing swap!  Several times a year we all go through our closets and gather clothes that we don't wear very much - then we get together and swap them around.  It's a great way to clean our closets and add new things at the same time!  My friend, BLC, from The Company She Keeps is always one of the hostesses with me.  Check out her blog The Clothes She Kept to see more pieces from her closet. 

Since I'm on Spring Break, I decided to try making a few new dishes.  This is one that I found on Pinterest from the Taste of Home website.  There's a lot of mayonnaise in the recipe; since I'm not a big mayo fan, I only used half as much as was called for in the recipe.  It was a big hit - and it makes TONS, so it's great for a big party!

Sun-dried Tomato Spread
Ingredients:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened (I used one regular and one fat free)
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jar (7 ounces) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
2/3 cup chopped roasted sweet red peppers
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Assorted crackers

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, onion and garlic until blended. Stir in tomatoes and red peppers. Stir in the mozzarella cheese, Italian cheese blend and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until edges are bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with crackers. Yield: 28 servings (1/4 cup each).

White Bean Dip with Pita Chips

This dip is a great appetizer (and works well for tailgating too!) It's super easy (seriously, anyone can make it) and has a lot of flavor. I've been making it for years. I took it to Thanksgiving one year, and it was a big hit!

White Bean Dip

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (loosely packed)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)

1 garlic clove

Method:

In a food processor, combine the beans, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pulse on and off until the mixture is coarsely chopped. With the machine running, gradually mix in 1/3 cup of oil until the mixture is creamy. Season the puree with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a small bowl and serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside. The pita wedges and bean dip can be made 1 day ahead. Make sure to keep the bean dip refrigerated if you're not serving it immediately.

Pita Wedges - Cut 4 slices of pita bread into 6 or 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges evenly over a large baking sheet. Brush the pita wedges with 2 tablespoons of the oil, then sprinkle with the oregano and 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees, the turn the pita wedges over and bake until they are crisp and golden, about 6 minutes longer.

Notes - This dip can easily be changed around - use different herbs, use chick peas instead of cannellini beans, or serve it with warmed pita wedges instead of crisp pita chips. There are a lot of ways to give it different textures and flavors!

Texas Caviar

It's football season which means it's time for tailgating food! Texas Caviar is one of the easiest dips to make for a large group of people. I always made it for the Grove! And it works well for family gatherings as well.

Texas Caviar

Ingredients:

2 cans of black-eyed peas

2 can of black beans

1 can of yellow corn

1 can of shoepeg corn

2 cans petite diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes)

1 green (or red or yellow) bell pepper (chopped)

1 red onion (chopped)

1 bunch of green onion (chopped)

1 jalepeno pepper (chopped and seeded)

1/2 bunch of cilantro (chopped)

-------------

1 lime

salt/pepper

1 bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing

Method:

Drain all canned items. In a very large container, mix all canned and chopped ingredients listed above the line. Then squeeze a lime over the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then pour about half of the bottle of dressing over the mixture. Stir everything together well. It tastes best if you refrigerate it for a few hours before serving. Then serve with tortilla chips!

One of the best things about this recipe is that you can leave out any ingredients that you don't like and add in almost anything! You can also alter the amounts of any of the ingredients to get specific flavor combinations. Leftovers taste great over grilled chicken.