Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 T diced pimento

Combine all ingredients in little crock pot.  Cover and heat 30 to 60 minutes or until hot.  Serve with tortilla chips.

*This was fair, but unless you really love artichoke hearts, I would go with another dip.  May I recommend the Creamy Spinach Dip?

Honey Mustard

• 
  
•    1/2 cup Miracle Whip
•    2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
•    1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
•    2 tablespoons honey
•    1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1.  Mix the Miracle Whip, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon juice together in a bowl. It becomes more flavorful when chilled in refrigerator overnight.

Caramel Dip

(To make 1/2 recipe, follow italics)
½ c butter (1/4 c)
8 oz sour cream (1/4 c)
15 oz pkg light brown sugar (1 c)
2 c coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (optional) (1 c)
Apple, pear, or other fruit slices

1. Cook first 3 ingredients over low heat in a 3-qt saucepan, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until smooth.
2. Stir in pecans. Serve with fruit slices.

Makes about 2 cups.

*We had this for a FHE treat and it was a hit!  Even after halving the recipe, it made at least double of what we needed.  I did use walnuts in place of pecans; toasted in the oven at 425 degrees for about 3-5 minutes.  The only change I would try next time would be to let the brown sugar dissolve in the butter completely before adding the sour cream.  I mixed the first 3 ingredients all together at first and even after letting it simmer for longer than 5 minutes; it was still a little sugar grainy.  Could experiment with a little less sugar to begin with and see how it turns out.

*We served with fresh pineapple, strawberries, bananas, and apples--d e l i c i o u s!

Cheeseball

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
2 t mustard
Bon appetite seasoning (or 1 t celery salt + 1/2 t onion powder)
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Mix all ingredients except walnuts together.  Adjust measurements to taste.  Form into a ball and roll in walnuts.  Serve with crackers.

*These are tradition in my mother's family.  Can't beat recipes tested by three generations!

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1/2 pint sour cream
1 T Lawry's seasoning salt
1 tomato, chopped

1.  Slice avocado in half, remove pit.  Coarsely slice through while still in skin.  Remove avocado and place into medium size bowl.

2.  Add remaining ingredients, adjust measurements to taste.

3.  Serve with chips, etc.

*This always makes me think of my dad and New Year's, a fringe benefit of being a store-keeper's daughter as it was an excellent way to use extra ripe produce.  Yum!

Disappearing Fruit Dip

Prep: 10 min

For variety, try substituting orange juice and orange peel for the lime.

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow cream
1 T lime juice
1 t grated lime peel
Dash ground ginger

Assorted fresh fruit

In a mixing bowl, beat until smooth. Makes 2 cups.

*Good, fun, nice touch for fresh fruit.  The first day I served this, I actually forgot to add the ginger.  The next day, I added a splash to what dip I had left.  The ginger definitely adds a hint of tanginess that I enjoyed.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Prep Time: 10 min
Serves 6
From allrecipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 pinch salt
1 T honey or sugar
ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1.  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, garlic, and mustard powder. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Stir in minced fresh herbs if desired.
 
*I very much enjoyed this.  I used half of it as a marinade in Shrimp Pasta and some of the remainder as a dip for French Baguettes.  I only had regular balsamic vinegar (not white) and regular mustard.

Pictured with white balsamic vinegar and ground mustard.  Beautiful.

Cheesy Football

Prep time 15 min
Total time 3 hr 15 min
Makes 3-1/2 cups spread or 30 servings, about 2 Tbsp. spread and 5 crackers each.

Ingredients
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans
2 Tbsp. pimiento strips (optional)
RITZ Crackers

Directions

BEAT first 5 ingredients with mixer until blended. Stir in onions. Refrigerate several hours.

FORM into football shape; coat with nuts.

ADD pimientos for the lacing. Serve with crackers.

From Kraft Foods.

5-Layer Mexican Dip

Ingredients
1 can (15-1/2 oz.) refried black beans
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
3 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup sliced black olives
1 tomato, chopped


Directions
MIX beans, chili powder and cumin; spread onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate.

TOP with layers of remaining ingredients.

REFRIGERATE several hours or until chilled. Serve with tortilla chips.