Creamy, Crunchy Apple Dip

If chocolate or cheese were food groups, one of those would probably be my favorite...or maybe even tie for my very favorite food group.  But since neither of those gets it's own category, I choose fruit as my favorite food group.  You can eat it on your cereal/oatmeal/toast/yogurt/waffles/pancakes for breakfast, as a snack, on the side of your lunch & dinner, mixed in with your salad for lunch or dinner, and with a little sugar for dessert - fruit is the jack-of-all-meals.  And I love fruit for that reason.  But you want to know something else I love about fruit?  You can pair it with something completely unhealthy and not feel quite as guilty as you normally would eating that unhealthy thing.  A perfect example of that situation is the apple dip I'm sharing with you today.  It's absolutely divine, and definitely one of those things you could find yourself licking the bowl clean after finishing it off.  Cheese.  Brown Sugar.  Heath bar.  It's literally that simple.  Don't forget the apples, though, or you're in for a major guilt trip.

Creamy, Crunchy Apple Dip

Something I picked up somewhere...I just don't remember!

Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/2 - 3/4 c. heath bar bits

Directions

Combine all 3 ingredients in a bowl & mix well, until the sugar is well-incorporated and not a grainy texture.  Serve with Granny Smith apples, or other fruit of your choice (also very good with bananas!)

Buffalo Chicken Dip...Yummmmmm

Netflix. I love love love Netflix! Not just because they deliver movies to my house, or because I can watch movies instantly online, no no. Right now I mostly love them because they are putting video stores all over out of business. Sounds terrible, and I realize it makes me seem like an absolute villain to be happy about something like that, but I'm getting loads of dvd's on the CHEAP and there is nothing bad about that! Except maybe for the fact that if I don't learn to control myself we could be movie-poor. At least when our cable gets turned off we'll still have our movies to keep us busy...I'm sure Dick will totally agree with me...maybe not.

Needless to say, we have a boatload of movie nights in our future, and this dip will definitely be showing its face for at least one or two of them. It's hot & spicy, cheesy and gooey, just the way I like it! Plus the warmth of it will make snuggling up on the couch even that much more enjoyable! TGIF, my friends! Any movie recommendations? - I'd love to hear your faves!

Kickin' Buffalo Chicken Dip

Adapted from David Garrard's Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

8 oz. low fat cream cheese at room temp.

2 c. cooked chicken, shredded

1/2 c. hot sauce

1/3-1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles

1/4 c. Tbsp. Ranch dressing

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

1. Spread cream cheese in the bottom of an 8x8 oven safe pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mix chicken and hot sauce until chicken is well-coated.

3. Spread chicken over cream cheese.

4. Drizzle Ranch dressing evenly over the chicken.

5. Evenly cover the dip with blue cheese crumbles and shredded mozzarella.

6. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly browned & bubbling.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip & tradition...TRADITION!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Alright, alright, I know that Turkey Day isn't here quite yet, but blogging is the last thing I'm going to be doing Thursday, so you get my holiday wishes today. I absolutely adore Thanksgiving - to me it just feels like the official start of the holiday season! I'm already listening to Christmas music these days, but on Thanksgiving I will no longer feel like a big dork for listening so early. I'll also bust out all of my Christmas decorations, and for the next month or so I'll become a more cheerful person...I can't explain it, it just comes with the holiday. This year we'll be spending the holiday with Dick's side of the fam, and although I love them dearly, I have a hard time not doing exactly what I've done for my whole life (or as long as I can remember) with my own family. I'm a terribly sentimental and emotional person that holds fast to tradition, and when something, even my own marriage, messes with those traditions my world gets seriously rocked! Crazy, I know. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions since I won't actually be doing them this year, and maybe this new coping mechanism will help me not be such a basket case hahaha.

Probably not, but here's hoping!

Waking up to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - I love the Rockettes!!!

Watching Mr. Pederman host the National Dog Show.

As if that wasn't enough tv, watching Miracle on 34th Street (yes, the new one!), before even taking a shower for the day.

Trucking it to Grandma Shirl's for my aunt Dayna's killer Monkey Bread (which I just realized when searching for a picture is not what the rest of the world thinks monkey bread is!). Also, we may never enjoy this family fave again, now that she's on a crazy no-carb diet!

Making the saddest looking graham cracker gingerbread houses you've ever seen, after dinner is cleaned up, but not before it has completely settled in our stomachs.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and that you enjoy all of your favorite traditions!!! Maybe this awesome dip can be a new tradition to add to your spread this year.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

From the Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1 10-oz bag baby spinach

1 c. packed fresh basil

3/4 c. canned cannellini beans, drained & rinsed (I used garbanzo beans)

6 oz Neufchatel cream cheese

1 clove garlic, smashed

1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained & squeezed dry & finely chopped

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 c. shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

pinch of cayenne pepper

2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

freshly ground black pepper

cooking spray

chips or crackers for serving

Directions

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees. bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. stir the spinach and basil into the boiling water and cook until bright green, ~30 seconds. remove w/ a slotted spoon and immediately plunge in the ice water. drain and squeeze dry, then roughly chop.

2. puree the beans, cream cheese, garlic, & chicken broth in a food processor until smooth, scraping the sides as needed. transfer to a medium bowl and fold in the spinach and basic, artichokes, Parmesan & 1/2 c. mozzarella. add the cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper to taste.

3. mist a deep 1-quart casserole dish w/ cooking spray. spread the dip mixture in the dish & top w/ the remaining 1/4 c. mozzarella. bake until golden & bubbly, 20-25 minutes. serve warm w/ chips or crackers.

Coming up:

Pecan-Cranberry Pumpkin Bread