Hot Parmesan Artichoke Dip & Pizza Dip

Now that I am living with other people, I find I am not taking pictures of what I am cooking. With an audience, there is more pressure to serve the food right away, and not pause to take a series of photos. So I am sorry that I’m not posting much these days. I resolve to do better.

While at my parents’ house for Christmas, we decided, since my brother’s family was flying out that afternoon, to just do a bunch of hors d'oeuvres on Christmas Day. Here are two of the ones I made. Of course, I forgot to take photos of the finished dishes, but I did remember and took a photo of one of my bites. Everyone seemed to eat them pretty quickly, I guess they liked ‘em?

Hot Parmesan Artichoke Dip

Ingredients
14 oz artichoke hearts
1 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 c mayonnaise
1 garlic clove
1-2 Roma tomatoes, diced
3-4 green onions, sliced
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients but tomatoes and onions.
Spoon into a pie dish.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with the tomatoes and onions.
Serve with chips or bread pieces or crackers or whatever.

Pizza Dip

Ingredients
1 cube cream cheese
2 c spaghetti or pizza sauce*
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
Spread the cream cheese evenly into the bottom of a pie dish. **I set the cream cheese out for a few hours beforehand so that it is room temperature, aka: easier to spread.**
Pour the sauce over the cream cheese.
Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes (until the mozzarella is melted).
Serve with crackers or bread, etc.

*I usually just make my own quick sauce combining tomatoes and spices, instead of using a jar sauce.

Enjoy!

easy bean salsa

2 cans black beans drained
2 cans white corn drained
2 avocados diced
2 Roma tomatoes diced (i don't like tomatoes so i don't put them in)
zesty Italian dressing to taste. about a 1/2 bottle.

enjoy with tortillia chips... YUM!!

Veggie Pizza

This is a great appetizer!

For the bottom crust: Crescent Rolls (sheet) using a 9x13 pan
Cook at 375* until golden brown

Cream layer:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Cut any vegetables
(For mine, I used broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, shredded carrots and topped it off with shredded cheese)

knorr spinach dip.

this is obviously not part of the cook's challenge... it has a brand name in the title :) my mom always makes this dip for holidays, parties, etc. it's so yummy + so easy. the recipe is on the back of the package, so i feel a little silly sharing it. but just in case you've never had it, i'll share anyway.

ingredients:
1 10 oz packaged frozen chopped spinach, thawed and sqeezed dry
1 16 oz container sour cream
1 cup mayo {miracle whip works too}
1 package knorr vegetable recipe mix {picture below}
1 can water chestnuts, drained & chopped
3 green onions, chopped

directions:combine all ingredients and chill for 2 hours. serve with veggies, crackers, bread, or whatever you like!

this is what the package looks like:

Friday at Cindy's

I was super excited about this challenge but have slacked a little bit on getting my postings up. Better late than never!

Last Friday's dinner was nachos. This is a favorite, fast meal in our house. While the picture does not make them out to be appetizing, they were delicious!

We spread tortilla chips on a baking sheet and then top with grated colby jack cheese, and then drop a mixture of refried beans and salsa on top. If we have diced green chilies we also add. After placing them in the oven for about eight minutes, we put on more salsa and sour cream. I am sure everyone has their own way of making nachos, but for us. this is the only way to go

Pampered Chef Hot Pizza Dip (FAVE!!)

No picture, sorry. But this dip is TO DIE FOR!! It is so flippin' good I could eat the entire thing by myself. No joke. Great to serve at parties and get-togethers.

Ingredients
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup (3 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
1 can/jar (8 oz.) pizza sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Serve on toasted Baguette bread (or Bread sticks, Canape bread slices, Tostitos chips)

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a bowl combine cream cheese and Italian seasoning; mix well.
-Spread in bottom of pie plate or a similar shallow dish- Combine cheeses and sprinkle half of cheese mixture over cream cheese.
-Spread pizza sauce over cheese.
-Top with remaining cheese (green onions, olives, peppers optional)
-Bake 15-18 min. or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbling around edges.Hints- The dip can be heated up in the microwave as well. Just microwave on High 2 min. Turn. Microwave on High 2-3 min. more or until mixture is bubbly around edges.