Brownie Batter Dip

A few months ago I was at a party at a friend's house and she served this fabulous chocolate dip that I new I just HAD to make!  It is so much more than just chocolate, when I learned that the recipe name was Brownie Batter Dip I wanted to lick the entire bowl!!!  My friend served it with graham crackers, strawberries, and marshmallows I have also dipped pretzels, pound cake, and nilla wafers in it.  The recipe is from Life in the Lofthouse blog.  I didn't change the ingredients, but I did reduce the amount of each of the ingredients by half to make a smaller batch.  I was making this for a small group so I did not need the large amount that the full recipe makes.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz of Cream Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter
• 1 1/4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Milk
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Flour
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• Mini Chocolate Chips for Garnish (optional)

Cream together butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer.  Add in remaining ingredients (except chocolate chips) and mix.  Place in bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.  

Jalepeno Popper Dip

Recently I was at a party and the hostess made this dip, for days my friends and I talked about how delicious it was.  I LOVE the spicy, cheesy, deliciousness of it! I made it for a party we recently had and everyone asked me for the recipe.

**When I made this one I accidentally forgot the top 1/4 cup of cheddar.  Ooops.  It was still delicious, but the top would have been a little prettier with a little more cheese.  Plus who doesn't love MORE cheese!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz Cream Cheese (I used 1/3 less fat, but don't use fat free it won't melt)
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 + 1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1- 4 oz can of Sliced Jalepeno Peppers (drained)
• 1 Tablespoon Diced Fresh Jalepeno or more for more spice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, and jalepenos.  Mix with electric hand mixer.  Don't worry about the canned jalepenos being to big, they will come apart and mix in with everything.  Place dip mixture in 8x8 baking dish.  Sprinkle on Panko bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of Cheddar.  Bake for 20 minutes.

I actually made mine ahead of time and placed it in the refrigerator until I was ready to bake it.  Since mine was really cold and straight out of the fridge it took closer to 27 minutes.

Serve hot with bagel chips, tortilla chips, or crackers.  

Oven "Fried" Zucchini Fries with Spicy Garlic Dipping Sauce

This is one of my new favorite side dishes!  Okay I have lots of new favorites.  Usually I just make zucchini on the grill or deep fried.  This is SO good I am sure I will be making it often!

Ingredients:

• 2 small Zucchini (enough to serve your family each zucchini is easily cut into 9 pieces)
• About a 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• About a Cup of Panko Bread Crumbs
• Pepper to taste
• Salt
• A Pinch of Garlic Powder
• 1 Egg
• A Pinch of Basil 
• A Pinch of Oregano
• 1/4 cup of flour

Sauce

• 6 oz of Plain Greek Yogurt
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 1 teaspoon of Chili Garlic Sauce
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Horseradish (Start with less you can always add more for spice)
• 1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise (for even less fat and calories leave this out) 

Combine all sauce ingredients and stir.  Add spicy ingredients slowly to desired spice level.  Refrigerate until you are ready to use.  

**About an hour and a half before you want to eat the zucchini complete this step!!

Cut the zucchini into the desired size pieces.  I usually cut my zucchini in 9 pieces lengthwise.  Place in colander and sprinkle with salt.  Place a plate under the colander and place it in the fridge until ready to start the breading process.  The salt will pull out the water in the zucchini and make it more crisp after it  it cooked.  

When you are ready to bread the zucchini remove it from the fridge and place it in a ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of flour.  Seal it and shake it around until all zucchini is covered.

Preheat oven to 425.  Next, beat an egg in a long shallow bowl (or whatever the zucchini will fit in)- set aside.  On a plate combine Panko, parmesan, garlic powder, pepper, a pinch of oregano, and a pinch of basil.  Individually dip each piece of zucchini in the egg and then roll it in the crumb/spice mixture.  Place each piece on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until breading is a golden brown color.

Tufano Salsa Dip

 

 The Tufano family holds a very special place in our hearts. Lucy, Tracy and Sherrie all met the exact same day while working together at Bath and Body Works and we have been friends ever since. Lucy often had us over to her house for get togethers. She always made sure to have snacks for everyone. This salsa dip was something that we could always expect her to serve. It is something that you can throw together very quickly and it tastes SO good!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Block of Cream Cheese
• 3/4 Cup Chi-Chi's Salsa (I am usually not a stickler about brands but with this it is a MUST!)
• 1 Cup Shredded Cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)
• Tortilla Chips (my kids really like it with pretzels)

With mixer blend together cream cheese and salsa. Add in 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Blend. Pour dip into serving bowl and top with remaining cheese.

Henderson Hummus

Who would have known that such a delicious dip was so good for you? I only discovered hummus and it's deliciousness a few years ago, to be honest. And like anything I try in a restaurant or "store-bought," I of course went home and tried to make my own, better version of it. I have tried several different recipes and have taken bits and pieces from my favorites to come up with what I call Henderson Hummus.

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup tahini sauce
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup good olive oil (I like to use some that my mother-in-law bought for me in Italy)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup vegetable of your choice- cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrot, etc. I used cucumber today.
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• dashes of salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. pickle or olive juice
• You can also add toasted pine nuts, minced garlic, tomatoes or cilantro as a garnish.

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. I like to chill mine for a few minutes, then serve with pita chips.

This recipe was served with our Mediterranean Chicken Kabob Platter.

Loaded Potato Topping

Our family likes to put this on just about any potato- including Baked Potato, Potato Wedges, Flattened Redskins, and Waffle Fries.

Ingredients

• 1/2 block 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons Hormel Real Bacon Bits
• 2 teaspoons Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
• 1-2 tablespoons of milk (use more or less to adjust desired consistency)

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Mix with hand-mixer until ingredients are well mixed. Add milk to adjust consistency.

Enjoy on top of any type of potato!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!