The last entry in my January (well, now early February) dip series is a Tex-Mex inspired black bean dip published (a few days late!)  in honor of that big football game, which as you all know was played in Dallas, Texas this year.  We are had a Superbowl party Sunday, and like many of you, we served up lots and lots of unhealthy (yet delicious) tidbits.  This dip, however, injects just a little bit of sense into our day of beer, fried cheese sticks, and mini pizza bagels, while bringing those favorite Tex-Mex spices to the party.  While it’s creamy and delicious, it is also low-fat as you will notice, and is also full of fiber and vegetables…although granted we ate it off of tortilla chips.  It made me feel just a little bit less gross at the end of the day.  This is another one of those recipes that you can throw together from things you have (or SHOULD have) in your pantry for a day such as Sunday, when the store ailes are clogged with confused single men looking for something to serve during the big game.  (My apologies if you are a single man – clearly if you are one who happens to be reading this blog, you are enlightened and do not fall into this category!) 

I modified the recipe from the original in several ways – first, I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, as I wanted to have a spicier bean dip.  If you would rather something with less of a kick, you can certainly use plain tomatoes.  I also added some light cream cheese at the end to give it silky smoothness that I just love in mexican dips.

Spicy Black Bean Dip

Source: Ingrid, via allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2oz (1/4 of an 8oz block) light cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Place black beans into a sturdy bowl, and mash! ( This takes a bit of elbow grease – don’t worry about getting the beans too smooth, the texture gives the dip character!)  In a skillet over medium heat coated with cooking spray, saute the onion and minced garlic together until the onions start to turn translucent.  Add mashed beans, frozen corn, tomatoes and chiles, and spices, stirring well, and cook until the mixture starts to thicken.  Add in the cream cheese cut into 2 or 3 chunks for ease of mixing, and the cheddar cheese.  Stir well.  Top with chopped cilantro.  Serve warm with your favorite chips!

As an aside – the leftovers made an AMAZING quesadilla filling.

Today in honor of week 2 of the football playoffs, I am adding another dip recipe to add to my January collection.   I personally love anything buffalo flavored these days – something about the spicy tomato-ey flavor combined with creamy cool cheese that has got me hooked.  I therefore obviously had to include a buffalo chicken dip in my dip montage.  I found this recipe which I ended up modifying from the original a bit  – first, I try not to buy canned chicken, as I find it too salty and too dry - instead, I used one leftover medium-sized cooked chicken breast made the day before.  Second, as with most of my recipes, I made some substitutions to reduce the fat content – namely, used light cream cheese and fat free ranch dressing.  Third, I don’t know about you – but 5 cups of dip as this recipe claims to make is a LOT of dip to make for one party, no matter how awesome the dip (or the party) – so I changed the proportions to make a much more reasonable 2.5 cups. Lastly, I made it at a friend’s house – so instead of dirtying a skillet, I used the microwave to heat it!  This version came out great – it has just the right amount of kick to be enjoyed by all.  For a different flavor, try add blue cheese dressing instead of ranch!

Buffalo Chicken Dip – adapted from allrecipes.com, Nunpunch

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 8oz package light cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup fat free Ranch dressing
• 1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a combination of swiss and cheddar)
• 1 bunch of celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
• crackers

Directions:

Stir together chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, cheese, and pepper sauce in a microwave-safe container.  Place into microwave.  Microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring in between, until the dip reaches your desired temperature and consistency.  Enjoy with celery and crackers.  And football, if you are so inclined.

New year, new house, new recipes!  My husband and I moved last month – as an aside, I now know why so few people opt to move in December – between the closing, the packing, the moving out and the moving in, and the holidays, I needed a few weeks to recover!  We’re now settled comfortably into our new home, and I finally have time to cook again. 

Now that football playoffs are upon us, it’s that time of year where one needs an arsenal of appetizer recipes to have on hand for the boys.  Frankly, even if you’re not going to be watching the playoffs (sorry to the Eagles, Colts, Saints & Chiefs fans out there), winter is a great season to find a warm afternoon snack to have around for entertaining.  My January series of posts will involve a number of tasty, easy & economical hot appetizer dips to prepare for your upcoming football festivities…or any other upcoming events you may have that are not related to sports. 

In my opinion, there are few appetizers more enjoyed than a nice warm Spinach & Artichoke dip, accompanied by some crispy crostini.  A few years ago, my co-blogger Beth posted a similar recipe as part of her homage to Superbowl Snacks - I made this slightly different recipe during the holidays this year, and it was both so easy and received such rave reviews that I promptly decided it is a definite keeper.  I served this with homemade crostini (really just a fancy word for toast) which I made myself by toasting thin slices of sourdough baguette.  It also is fantastic with tortilla chips or potato chips…and if you’re feeling especially healthy for your New Year’s resolution, it would also taste good with fresh vegetables too.  Like Beth’s, it has the distinct advantage that you can prepare it in advance – right through the final step of topping with mozarella and baking – which may make your Sunday afternoons more fun over the next few weeks if you are going to be watching the boys party for a few weeks, like me. 

PS – it also involves the ever useful frozen spinach! 

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip – from Tiffany Brennan via allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package light cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. (Unless you are making it in advance – then no need right now!)  Blend together the cream cheese, mayo, parmesan cheese, garlic, basil and salt.  Stir until well combined.  Gently fold in the artichoke hearts and spinach.  (If preparing in advance – stop here!)  Place into an oven-safe small baking dish.  Top with mozarella cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

To make crostini:  Slice a baguette (I used a sourdough baguette) into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Place slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Toast at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Call them crostini, and everyone will think you are about to win the next Iron Chef.

Meaghan sent me the recipe for her quick and easy Cheesy Nacho Dip. The creaminess of the cream cheese blends quite nicely with the spice of the salsa. It’s a breeze to put together and is quite the crowd-pleaser. This dip can be assembled in advance and heated immediately before serving. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Cheesy Nacho Dip

8 oz. block of cream cheese
8 oz. bag of shredded cheese
one jar of salsa.

1. Spread the cream cheese across the bottom of a glass pie plate.
2. Spread your desired amount of salsa on top of the cream cheese.
3. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the salsa.
4. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

I’ve received the Kraft Food and Family magazine for a few years. It’s a free, seasonal publication that contains easy recipes for everyday meals, appetizers and desserts. I have a number of Kraft recipes in my “Recipes to Try” binder, including this simple one for Spinach and Artichoke dip.

This spinach and artichoke dip recipe is delicious and easy to prepare. It’s funny how two vegetables that don’t look or smell too good on their own can taste so wonderful when combined with a few other ingredients.

I followed the recipe pretty closely. I used Cain’s Fat Free Mayonnaise, as I have found this to be the most flavorful of the reduced fat/fat free mayos I’ve tried. Because I wasn’t paying close attention, I added 1/4 cup more mozzarella cheese than the original recipe called for. Since I liked the creaminess of the recipe, I’ll keep adding 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. In the future, I’ll probably add more garlic powder because I would prefer a little more garlic flavoring.

I served the spinach and artichoke dip with multi-grain Tostitos, but I also saw guests dipping assorted crackers. The dip was a hit!

Cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

From KraftFoods.com

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
3/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
3/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Mix all ingredients until well blended.
3) Spoon into 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish.
4) Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until heated through

This dip can be assembled in advance. Cover and refridgerate for up to 24 hours. Bake, uncovered, as directed, but add 5-10 minutes more to ensure that the dip is heated through.