Hot Chicken Dip

This is another recipe from craft night at the County Extension Office. This is a little more detailed than the Pumpkin Dip but is wonderful too. Mary, the lady who made it, did not use the garlic or put the cheese on top. She put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then in the oven for about 20 minutes.

 

I'll probably leave off the garlic but definitely use the cheese. I love cheese! One of the wonderful things about cooking is you can adapt recipes to fit your own taste buds.

 

Hot Chicken Dip

1/2 cup light mayonnaise
8 oz. package cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can save a little to melt on top the last three minutes of cooking)
2 cans chicken, drained
1/2 teaspoon garlic power or minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder or minced onion
1 can Rotel, drained
1 small jar chopped pimento, NOT drained

Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly and hot throughout.

Serve with corn chips, tortilla chips or crackers.

Pumpkin Dip

Once every quarter the County Extension Office hosts a do-it-yourself craft event. We pay $10 per person and leave with three completed projects and deeply happy hearts. It is just plain fun. Last month we decorated tiles, etched a candle holder and made a pumpkin out of scrapbook paper.

 

A highlight of the evening is the snack. Remember these ladies are all about crafting and cooking and canning and such. Anything they make is good. They served this Pumpkin Dip with ginger snap wafers. It was sooooo good I had to go back for seconds. I wasn't the only one. They didn't seem to mind.

 

Just look at it: Three ingredients mixed together and you've got a dip people enjoy so much they return for seconds. That is MY kind of recipe!

 

Pumpkin Dip

1 carton Cool Whip
1 box vanilla instant pudding
1 can pumpkin

Mix it all together.

Serve with ginger snaps and graham crackers.

Hot Cheesy Spinach Dip

This recipe probably came in the mail as an enticement to make a purchase. I kept the recipe card but didn’t make the purchase. Oh well. It looks like it came from Easy to Bake, Easy to Make.

The Baker’s Corner suggests serving this dip with crackers strong enough for scooping or toasted slices of sourdough bread. The sourdough would be my favorite. It’s just perfect for a hot, creamy dip like this one.

Also, I’ll probably pass on the water chestnuts. But that’s a personal choice. I hope you enjoy it, whichever way you go.

Hot Cheesy Spinach Dip

2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped onion (about ¼ medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups half-and-half
2 packages (9-oz each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 package (1 oz) dry vegetable soup mix
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is crisp-tender and garlic is fragrant, 2-3 minutes.

Stir in flour; cook and stir an additional minute. Add half-and-half and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens, about 2 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in chopped spinach, water chestnuts, Cheddar and vegetable soup mix. Spoon dip into a 1-quart casserole or gratin dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake dip until it is bubbly and cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve warm.

Makes 8 servings.

Lemon Light Fruit Dip

I totally love fruit. And it’s good for you, which is always a plus. But sometimes you need something extra to make it festive, like when you’re taking it to your Sunday School Class party. That’s tonight. I think it’s wonderful. But the true test will come when I find out if everyone else likes it too.

This recipe comes from Pillsbury. I found it in the December 1998 Holiday Appetizers & Desserts book.

Lemon Light Fruit Dip

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon honey

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Cover; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to blend flavors. Serve with cut-up fresh fruit.

Makes 1 ½ cups.

Hidden Valley Ranch Cheese Ball

Don’t you just love all the recipes that come out around the holidays? This is one of those, clipped from a magazine an unknown number of years ago. I could wait and share it when the holiday parties start. But in the Deep South college football is the perfect time to eat and snack and cheer your team on to victory!

Hidden Valley Ranch Cheese Ball

½ cup prepared, double strength Hidden Valley Ranch Milk Recipe Original Ranch Salad Dressing
(1 package, ½ cup mayonnaise and ½ cup milk)
8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese, room temperature for 1 hour
6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature for one hour
5 oz. sliced almonds, toasted

Mix the double strength salad dressing and cream cheese. Beat well with electric mixer. Add Cheddar cheese and blend. Cover and freeze for 30 minutes.

Shape cheese mixture into a ball. Roll cheese ball in toasted almonds.

Lite 'N Easy Cheese Dip

This sweet little clipping is apparently from an advertisement for Sargento cheese. I say that because it’s got their brand of cheese in it. Hey, many wonderful recipes are created by the folks who are promoting their products. The “lite” caught me. The tuna almost stopped me. I like tuna but it just seemed odd. What do you think?

Lite ‘N Easy Cheese Dip

1 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 8-oz. package Sargento Fancy Mild Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well-drained
1 6 ½ oz. can chunk light tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons chopped pimento, optional

In medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt and mustard. Add remaining ingredients and stir well.

Makes 3 cups.

Serve with Devonsheer Melba Rounds or Toast.

Crunchy Grecian Dip

This dip is just another excuse to eat your fruit!

Crunchy Grecian Dip with Apples

1 cup (6 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 cup sour cream, light sour cream, or plan non-fat yogurt
½ cup chopped nuts
½ cup milk
¼ cup raisins
¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Combine all ingredients; mix well.
Serve with apple slices as dippers.
Makes 2 cups.