Day 151 : Nanny’s Veggie Dip

While this is not my nanny it must have been someone’s, and IMO she knew what she was doing.  This is a great simple dip that uses things almost everyone has on hand at any given time.  For the purpose of showing just that I went with the dried versions as stated in the recipe, but I bet fresh ingredients could make this even better!  I almost always have onions, parsley, and garlic on hand, as I am sure many others do as well.

I made this today to dip carrots in because I was hoping to keep my caloric intake a little low for the afternoon since I knew we were eating out tonight.  However, once I made it and brought it into the living room to share in a sort of picnic Archer quickly decided he wanted some too, and I wasn’t comfortable with him having the carrots so I asked Jeff to grab some crackers for him to dip.  Tried it with the veggie ritz crackers and it was SOOOO good.  I could easily have eaten a whole sleeve of crackers that way myself.

Anyway, this is great for a crowd, either at a party or maybe a picnic or whatever.  Just make sure you give it some time to chill and let the flavors marry before you serve it.

 

Nanny’s Veggie Dip

Serves : about a cup                  Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
• 1/2 cup low fat mayo
• 1/2 T. parsley flakes
• 1/2 T. dried onion flakes
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 T. prepared mustard

Directions :

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well to mix.
2. Cover and chill for a couple hours before serving.

Day 117 : Southwest Bean and Salsa Dip

Jeff surprised me by bringing home dinner tonight so I had to come up with last minute plans for a recipe.  I had a few things left over from various recipes this week, and some I had planned to use in a different recipe which might get pushed back for now, so I decided to do a quick search for something to use up some of them.  I found a similar recipe to the one I will share tonight listed as a Weight Watchers snack and decided to give it a try but didn’t have very high hopes for it honestly since I am not typically a chunky dip kind of person and the thought of a bean dip that wasn’t smooth had me worried.

However, I think this might just be one of, if not THE best salsa/bean type dips I have ever had!  Yes, it’s so simple, but the flavor is so great!  I actually really like the beans and corn in this too, and the fact that this is something you could eat on weight watchers is just the gravy!  I plan to make this many times again and if I get the chance to host a Mexican themed dinner party this is DEFINITELY going to be on the menu for an appetizer!

The recipe I was inspired by said to allow the flavors to marry for a few hours before eating it, but we didn’t have the time to do this tonight.  I can imagine it would only get better with time though.  I did find it to have a bit of heat, but not in a bad way.  For me it was just the right amount.

Southwest Bean and Salsa Dip

Serves : 3-4                         Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 can (11 oz) corn niblets, drained
• 1 can rotel tomatoes with chilis, drained
• 1/2 cup chunky salsa (I used mild)
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
• chips for dipping

Directions :

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir to mix.  Cover and chill for a couple of hours if you have the time before serving.

Day 78 : Feta & Herb Dip with Crudites

Time to start throwing in some healthier recipes again after all the holidays and celebrations lately!  Tonight, after a busy day running errands, we decided to have a simple and light dinner.  Crudites (pronounced Crew-dee-tay) is an assortment of raw vegetables with either a vinaigrette or dipping sauce.  It’s often seen as an appetizer, but like we did tonight it makes a great light meal served with something like a rotisserie chicken.  Neither one of use are big fans of most cooked vegetables, so this is perfect for us.  Crudites are also great for parties and appeal to everyone from kids, to vegetarians, to dieters alike.  They are simple to put together and you can even take a bit of help and get pre-cut veggies from the store if you are pressed for time.  With a little bit of effort crudites can also be a great center piece to any table scape.  You can put them in a basket as I did tonight, or you can do a more of a bouquet type presentation.  With all the different colors it looks so beautiful, and FRESH!

Tonight I used a mixture of broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, snow peas, and radishes, but you can also use bell pepper strips, asparagus, celery, green onions, or whatever else you like.  The dip was very nice and I liked the tangy-ness of the feta paired with the freshness of the herbs.  The beans gave it a nice creamy consistency, and a boost of protein of course.  I might add some lemon zest next time, or a bit more of the parsley, but as with everything you can tweak to your tastes.  Just have fun with it!  Oh and the best part… it’s pretty guilt free I’d say!

 

Feta & Herb Dip with Crudites

Serves : makes 2 cups of dip                Time to make : 20 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 (15 oz.) can of white beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• 1/4 cup fresh chives
• various raw vegetables, washed and cut up in pieces

Directions :

1. Combine the beans, yogurt, feta, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth.
2. Add in the fresh herbs and pulse until well combined.
3. Chill until ready to serve.

 

Day 36 : Buffalo Chicken Dip & Award Winning Chili

Are you ready for some football?!

Even though this post is likely going to go through after the game is over, and in our house it was just a quiet evening at home watching the game by ourselves I figured I would get in the spirit of things and choose some game day traditional foods for my blog.  What could be more synonymous with the Superbowl than Chili and Buffalo Chicken Wings?!

I am not a wings kind of gal, but have been wanting to try a buffalo chicken dip for quite some time now.  There are many versions out there, but this one sounded great to me and I am so glad I chose it.  I’d say it was PERFECT for us!  So creamy, the flavors are just right and not too spicy, and so simple to make!  I can easily see this one becoming my new go-to dip for gatherings.  The recipe suggested serving it with some toasted baguette slices, but I have a cut in my mouth and didn’t want to deal with the sharp crusty bread.  So along with my UN-toasted baquette slices I  chose to serve it with some fritos as suggested by reviewers and felt they were great with it also.  Myself, I think I prefer the baguette though.

Today I used low fat ranch, and would have also chosen to use low fat cream cheese if the store had not been completely sold out, and I feel that it didn’t take away from the flavor at all.  I also decided to make my life easier, and my dish load less (or rather Jeff’s dish load) by just putting it all in the crockpot from the start.  I let it cook on high for about an hour until all the cheeses were melted and then on low for another 50-60 minutes.  Then switch it over to warm and dish out as much as you want to at a time.  You might even want to have the recipe already typed out and copied onto cards to hand out because I guarantee you will be asked for this one by a lot of people!

Now for the chili….. I grew up eating chili soup, which is a brothy sort of chili with noodles and I love it.  The only “real” chili we ever had was from a can on occasion, which I also enjoy.  I have tried a couple of recipes myself since then, and though they were ok, I haven’t found one I love yet.  This recipe wears the title “Award Winning”, which upon reading the notes I realized was just from some guy’s work cook-off , but I decided to give it a shot anyway because the ingredients listed sounded good to me.  Mostly I was just excited to try out my new dutch oven lol.

I am sorry to say that I just thought it was ok as with all the rest…. however Jeff did give it 5 stars!  I think it must be me…. maybe I prefer a more mellow chili flavor or a sweeter flavor.  I will find one someday!  Anyway, it really was good, and did remind me a lot of the canned chili with some added heat from the jalapeno and spices.  The only change I made was to use half ground beef and half ground turkey per my husband’s request.  It sure made my house smell good anyway!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Serves : 20           Time to make : 20 minutes (2 hours if done in crockpot)

Ingredients :

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chicken
• 2 (8 ounce) packets cream cheese
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (I use Frank’s wing sauce)
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 2 cups mild cheddar cheese
• 2 loaves baguette