hot spinach salsa queso dip

HOT SPINACH SALSA QUESO DIP

• 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 lb Velveeta cheese (2% fat--this is the reduced fat version)
• 8 ounces cream cheese (light)
• 1 jar salsa (I used 3/4 full jar of a 16 ounce jar)
• A handful of chopped cilantro (optional-but good)

Now there's 3 ways to make this:

1) Cut the Velveeta and cream cheese into cubes and place all ingredients in a microwaveable-safe dish. Heat until cheese has melted and stir to combine all ingredients. 

2) If you prefer, you can place all the ingredients in an oven safe dish and bake until the dip is heated through--continuing to stir to mix all ingredients. I usually put the dip in at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes--keep an eye on it as it depends on how deep your dish is--it can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 20-25 minutes to have all the cheese melted. When it's hot and bubbly, it's ready!

3) OR, you can place all ingredients in a crockpot and heat until cheese has melted (continuing to stir the mixture to combine ingredients). It should take somewhere around an hour to have the cheeses melt (but check as crockpots vary). This particular method is great if you can leave it on the low setting--then your dip will stay warm for a while. But I bet it won't last!

Serve warm with tortilla chips. Heaven! Should make a small crowd very happy before dinner is served (like 4-6 people).

roasted corn and avocado dip

from suppers with southern living
dip

black eyed peas

from pioneer woman
black eyed peas

baba ghannouj

from good eats
eggplant dip

white bean hummus

from drop 5 lbs
hummus

guiltless guacamole

from drop 5 pounds
guacamole

black bean hummus

from $10 dinners
hummus
different from my other FAVORITE black bean dip

white bean hummus

from drop 5 pounds
hummus

guiltless guacamole

from drop 5 pounds
guacamole

hummus

I have been looking for a while for a recipe for hummus that DOESNT call for tahini....since for some reason I cant find it ANYWHERE in my small town....other people have tried to tell me where to find it, and I STILL cant find it! grrr!
Turns out I had this recipe hanging out in my kitchen all along:

2 15 ounce cans garbanzo beans (or 1/2 pound cooked beans)
3 cloves garlic pressed
2T lemon juice (or red wine vinegar)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

after draining the liquid from the beans, pour into a food processor and blend for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

I'll confess, I was feeling cocky and didnt measure anything...I totally added extra garlic, eyeballed the lemon juice/vinegar. I probably added quite a bit more than it called for because my beans must have been dried out or something, but they werent blending very well. I probably shouldnt have eyeballed the cumin, because it ended up a bit spicy...my husband and I liked it, my little guys didnt. I also added roasted red peppers from a jar which made it delicious, and I also added some of the liquid from the jar too. it made a TON and it was delicious. Thinking back, I wish I had added some nice evoo to loosed it up too, just to add some more authentic flavor.

hummus

from my friend Amy F.

Hummus


2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chick-peas), drained
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 pickled hot pepper (optional)
Preparation with processor running, drop garlic through feed tube and mince. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add chick-peas, tahini and lemon juice; process until mixture is smooth. Add roasted peppers; process until peppers are finely chopped. While it is processing slowing add in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

garbanzo bean and olive tapenade

from giada at home on food network
tapenade

artichoke spinach white bean dip

from april 2011 cooking light
dip

cucumber salsa

Ingredients
2 medium cucumbers, peeled,seeded,chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded,minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1In a medium bowl stir together all ingredients.
2Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.
3Serve with tortilla chips.

Easy Bean Dip/Spread

This is 2 versions of basically the same recipe....I've tried the version already from my sister's blog...I have yet to try to version from my friend's suggestion. Here is the link to Amy's Blog:
"Making Refried Beans" I added 1 onion quartered and a few cloves of garlic, I also realized that I only used 1 pound of beans instead of her suggested 2 pounds, but I used the same amount of seasoning and it was yummy!.... I used beef bullion the first time and chicken broth the second time I made it, I thought both were tasty....Also, be sure that if you use her suggestion to put a dollop of yogurt or a splash of lemon juice in with the beans you dont put too much...at first I did and the beans started looking wierd, so I poured out most of the water and started over again. My sensitive stomach didnt have any trouble with this bean recipe. The first night we tried it with chips (should have made a salad or something else to go with it...) The Second night we spread the dip on tortillas with some cheese...broiled them like my friend Rachel suggests below.....and then topped with lettuce and tomatoes....that was pretty tasty too...my only criticism of this meal is that you have to start thinking about it almsot a full day ahead of time due to the soaking and slow cooker....so think ahead and figure out when you want to eat it, then count backwards! I blended up about 1/2 of the beans into dip and that made enough for 4 servings (Jack wasnt a fan so he didnt eat much) plus enough for lunch for Josh one day too. I froze the other 1/2 of the cooked beans and hope to pull them out sometime when I need a "quick" meal.

Here is the other (non-slow cooker) version from my friend Rachel via Facebook. I want to try this one sometime too:
"We love bean tostadas. I soak 3 cups of dried pinto beans in 9 cups of water overnight and then add 1 medium onion, cut into fourths, and 1 head of garlic, peeled. I simer it until the beans are nice and soft and then puree it in the blender (along with the onion and garlic). If you don't care about fat you could fry them and make them "real" refried beans.
Once the beans are cooked, i spread them on tortillas and top them with taco seasoning, cheese, red and green pepper and tomato and broil in the oven until the cheese melts. Roll them up and enjoy.
This makes ALOT of refried beans, so I freeze the leftovers to thaw when we have it again later. This is a SUPER cheap meal if you use the dried beans, but even if you buy canned refried beans it's still not too bad."
(I listed this meal under vegetarian because there is no expensive meat to purchase or prepare...but actually the beans are simmered in the crock pot in a beef or chicken stock/broth)

Black Bean "Hummus"

from a cooking Class at the Viking Store (which I tweaked a bit..)

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp evoo

1 small white onion peeled and chopped

1 small green bell pepper

4 cloves of garlic, minced (recipe only called for 2, but we like garlic....)

1 tsp dried oregano

two 15-ounce cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1/2 pound dried beans that have been soaked and cooked and drained)

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

1 small bunch of cilantro coarsely chopped (recipe only called for 3 Tbsp, but we also like cilantro!)

2 tsp Tabasco sauce, or to taste

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

warm water as needed to thin

green onions, green tops only very thinly sliced for garnish

1. Place a medium saute pan over medium high heat; add the oil and heat through. Stir in the onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and dried oregano, and cook two minutes more. our in the beans, and continue cooking, stirring often until just warmed through, about 2 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, then transfer the bean mixture to the work bowl. Using a hand blender pulse to combine. While still blending, add the lime juice, cilantro, and hot pepper sauce; continue blending until the dip is completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. If the dip is too thick for chips, thin with a little warm water, adding it one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.

I served this with baked plantain chips which were very disappointing! I'm going to try again with the plantains and hopefully post the recipe once it is perfected. In the meantime, this is good with store bought plantain chips, tortilla chips or veggies such as baby carrots! ENJOY!