Cool weather, football and basketball games, and friends gathered for good times call for an endless spread of snacks.
Here are two dips that can be prepared ahead and cooked to provide warm and hearty snacks.
The first dip is courtesy of Pampered Chef, Touchdown Taco Dip.
Pampered Chef’s Touchdown Taco Dip
Ingredients:
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
½ cup pitted ripe olives, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro or parsley, snipped
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread refried beans over bottom of deep dish baker. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning in a bowl. Press garlic into bowl; mix well. Spread over beans. Shred cheese over top. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until hot.
Chop olives and snip cilantro. Sprinkle tomato, onions, olives, and cilantro over dip. Garnish with additional sour cream, if desired.
Serve with baked tortilla chips or another type of chips.
Baked Tortilla Chips
Ingredients:
8 (7-inch) flour tortillas
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using pizza cutter, cut each flour tortilla into 8 wedges; arrange half of the tortilla wedges in a single layer on flat baking stone. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and crisp. Remove from baking stone; cool completely. Repeat with remaining tortilla wedges. Yield: 64 chips.
Sausage-Rotel-Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients:
1 14 to 16 ounce roll of ground sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)
1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes (select your style)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 can black olives, sliced (optional)
Shredded cheese, such as the Kraft Mexican (4-cheese)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage in pan, making small pieces; drain on paper towels. While the sausage is still warm, mix the sausage with the cream cheese. Add Rotel tomatoes, with liquid, and mix until well-combined. Pour sausage mixture into 9×13-inch baking dish.
Distribute the sliced black olives over the top of the mixture. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top of the mixture (as much as desired).
Bake in 350 degree oven until the mixture is warmed through.
Serve with Scoops or pita chips.
Note: Some recipes cook the dip on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. These recipes omit the shredded cheese. However, the shredded cheese could be mixed into the dip, and then warmed on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
Enjoy!
Stay tuned for the next historical post on January 22nd: Ice skating at Lake Hills, 1963-style.
