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Posts Tagged ‘Dips’

Pizza Dip

Posted in Sides (For the High Cal Right Brain, tagged , , , on September 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Mother-effin Pizza Dip.  Done and Done.

Ingredients:

  • 1, 8 ounce, block of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 1 cup pizza sauce (or any tomato sauce you have lying around, preferably not too chunky)
  • Chips, homemade garlic bread, crackers for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put the softened cream cheese in a pie plate or any small square/round oven safe dish.  Add the spices and mash around until well mixed, then evenly distribute across the bottom of the dish.  Sprinkle on about 1 cup of cheese, pour on tomato sauce and evenly distribute, then add the rest of the cheese.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until melty and starting to bubble.  Then, if you would like, kick on the broiler and brown the top for 3-5 minutes, or just continue baking.  Serve!

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Jalapeno Popper Dip

Posted in Sides (For the High Cal Right Brain, tagged , on December 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Why has it been a ton of time since I last posted?  Is it because work has been busy?  Is it because I went on a lavish vacation?  No, sorry.  It’s because I got drunk and left my camera at my friend’s place.  But hey, at least I had fun, right? Well, now back to the dip.  I love jalapeno poppers and I love hot dip.  I’ve seen a ton of jalapeno-related dips popping up on blogs as Christmas is getting closer and I wanted to try to make my own–and let me tell you, it came out perfectly.  I honestly wanted to dive inside of it and live in a butter cracker hut. It’s the perfect dish to bring to a dinner party and even better to comfort me after that whole Miley Cyrus scandal that I can’t even discuss.  Try it; you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup light mayonnaise (the 35 calorie one)
  • 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
  • 4 ounces canned, diced jalapeno peppers (I used the jarred, sliced ones and chopped them up; but I heard some places do actually have canned jalapenos. Jealous.)
  • 1/2 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup Panko

Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix together the mayo and cream cheese until well blended.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients except the Panko; spread into a pan.

If you want to make the dip ahead of time, stop here.  Otherwise, sprinkle on a cup of Panko, and give one quick spray of PAM on top.  Bake for around 30 minutes, until the mixture is hot and the crumbs are browned.  

Serve with carrots and butter crackers.  Proceed to be addicted.

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Smoked Paprika and Garlic Hummus

Posted in Sides (For the High Cal Right Brain, tagged , , on July 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

What do cream cheese, sour cream, hummus, and peanut butter have in common?  I cannot keep them in the house without going at them with a spoon.  Or my face.  However, sometimes we make mistakes and this is a wonderful one.  This is not a low calorie recipe.  When I started to calculate the calorie count and saw that just the tahini alone was 300 calories for 3 tablespoons and then the can of chick peas had 350 calories and I’m not even going to mention the olive oil, I knew the results were gonna be ugly–so I just threw in the towel and decided to extol the virtues of this very healthy, full of protein and fiber, vegan dip that is fast and easy to make and can be seasoned to please your palate.  Any leftovers are great as a sandwich spread or as a sandwich itself.

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15.5 ounces) chick peas
  • 3 tablespoons sesame tahini paste, stir well before using
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice or water (I used water because I didn’t have any lemon juice and it tasted great.)
  • 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil

Use only the best ingredients you can find for the best tasting hummus!

Rinse and drain chick peas.

In food processor fitted with steel blade, combine chick peas, tahini, paprika, salt, garlic and lemon juice.

Turn on processor and stream in oil.  Process until creamy/smooth.

Scrape down sides to incorporate the paprika.  Taste for seasonings.  You may want to add more salt and/or paprika.  If hummus is too thick, add 1 tablespoon more oil, lemon juice or water and pulse until incorporated.

Spoon into serving bowl and sprinkle with additional smoked paprika.  This recipe, which can be made 1 day ahead, serves 4-6 people as a dip.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

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Healthy Roasted Eggplant Dip

Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , on June 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Memorial day weekend I was lucky enough to go to my friend Jes’s wedding. Out of the billions of weddings I’ve been to in the last few years, I find that I really love the food-a-ganza at southern weddings.  Best part of this one?  The picnic the night before consisted of a whole smoked pig.  Yes, whole smoked pig of deliciousness.

Yes, that’s the bride, hand in pig.  We were told to dig in…

One of the other great things about this wedding was the copious amount of dips at the actual reception.  They had hot and cold dips, tons of bread and crackers, and I was in heaven. The following recipe is one of my favorite dip recipes for company.  It is pretty low calorie, yet hard to calculate the exact calorie count, due to the changing sizes of the vegetables.  I suggest serving it with baked pita chips, cucumber slices, or crackers and then save the leftovers to spread on sandwiches for the week.  Or you can eat it with a spoon, which I find myself doing most often.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large eggplant, unpeeled
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeded
  • 1 red onion, peeled
  • 2 garlic gloves, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut eggplant, peppers and onion into approximately 1-inch cubes.

Place cut up veggies on ungreased baking sheet.

Add garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss well to coat all veggies with oil.  Spread out in even layer.  The colors Duke, the colors!  (Yes, this will keep coming back to haunt you.)

Roast for 30 to 45 minutes or until veggies are lightly brown and soft (Peppers should be soft when pierced with a knife.), tossing once during cooking.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Place veggies in food processor fitted with steel blade.  Add tomato paste.

Pulse 10 to 20 times to blend.  Do not over process.  The dip should be a coarse with a slightly chunky consistency.  Taste for salt, pepper and tomato paste.  Sometimes I add an additional tablespoon of tomato paste if I think it needs the zing.

Transfer to serving bowl; cover and refrigerate.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

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Baked Onion Cheese Dip

Posted in Sides (For the High Cal Right Brain, tagged , , on January 6, 2010 | 2 Comments »

I love Christmas with Rico’s family.  They are warm, loving and so is food.  Hands down the food is the best Christmas food I have ever had.  His Mom, Aunt and Uncle make everything from scratch and my tummy thanks them–my scale does not.  This dip is a recipe given to me by Rico’s Aunt–she made it this past Christmas.  I honestly suggest not looking at the ingredients and having someone make it for you, because when you see what is actually in the dip, the nutritionist angel on your shoulder will cry.  However, it is sooooo worth it.

Since again, I was too busy cooking and forget to take a picture of this incredible dip when I made it for New Years, I shall now share with you this picture of my wonderful mother foraging for rutabagas which were hidden in the Food Emporium.  I like to think that this is their orignal habitat, and my mother was the hunter.  It makes me happy.

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups mayonnaise
  • 2 cups chopped sweet onion
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • I suggest Ritz or any butter cracker for serving

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 1 quart baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and sweet onion. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes, or until onions are tender and the mixture is bubbly and lightly browned.

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