2 (15 1/2 oz.) cans pink salmon, drained well 16 oz. cream cheese, softened 2 tbsp. lemon juice 4 tbsp. green onion, finely chopped 2 tbsp. horseradish (more or less to taste) 1 tbsp. dried dill weed (additional to dust over top) 2 tsp. liquid smoke
Drain salmon very well. Remove bones and skin. Using a hand mixer on low, combine all ingredients until well blended. Place in serving bowl and dust with additional dill weed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature about 5 minutes before serving to ease spreading.
This is one of those dip recipes that you wouldn’t believe could taste so very good, yet be so very easy to make. Local restaurant extraordinaire Perfectly Frank’s makes this as “Crack Dip” on sale by the cup with toasted, seasoned pita chips for dipping.
1 lb mild (or hot) ground sausage (depending on your love of heat). 16 oz cream cheese (softened, cut into cubes) 1 cup sour cream 1 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with chiles
Brown sausage in a skillet; drain grease. Add cream cheese and tomato/chiles. Stir until combined. Transfer to a crock pot and stir in sour cream. Warm through and reduce to keep warm. Serve with corn chips, veggies, pita chips, or your favourite crackers.
Not the best photo, but this turns out like the filling of a bean burrito as a dip, and is well worth the time to make!
The final in the trinity of dips that are our freind’s favourites. It’s gluten free, and I’ve never had to put it in a heated chaffing dish because it seems to go so quickly.
1 1/2 cup sour cream 16 oz. can refried beans 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 package taco seasoning 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, separated 1/4 cup salsa (mild if you don’t like heat, hot if you do!)
Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, mix refried beans, sour cream, cream cheese, and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Add taco seasoning and salsa. Mix again until combined.
Transfer to 8″ x 8″ baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with remaining shredded cheese and bake until browned and bubbly (about 25 minutes). You can top with diced scallions if you like (I didn’t because the other two dips I served were topped thusly).
Serve hot with your favourite type of tortilla chips (we enjoy both the Tostitos with a Hint of Jalapeno as well as Tostitos with a Hint of Lime).
This dip always goes over well (you can adjust the spiciness/heat by how much of the buffalo wing/hot sauce you choose to use) at parties. Pair with chips/pita wedges and a good chilled white wine. (Recipe doubled and modified from Dinner At The Zoo Food Blog). This recipe works great for those of us who prefer ranch instead of blue cheese.
3 cups cooked chicken shredded 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce or hot sauce such as Frank’s® (You can adjust this up, for more heat; down, for less) 1 package dry ranch dressing mix 1 cup sour cream 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 6 green onions, diced cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken, cream cheese, buffalo wing/hot sauce, ranch mix and sour cream, until combined. If using a mixer, be sure not to break up all the chicken, or you’ll have a paste for a dip. Coat an 12 inch skillet or chafing dish with cooking spray. Spread the chicken mixture into the skillet. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned around the edges and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with diced green onions.
You can use rotisserie chicken, or bake off boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) and shred by hand.
The ultimate easy dip — served cold with corn chips, crackers, crostini or pita wedges. You can lighten up the calories by using reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat sour cream, but don’t go for the fat-free. The texture will be way off and you probably won’t enjoy it.
1 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened 1 1/2 cups sour cream 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese (go for a thicker shred than the feather – it makes the dip have a better “mouth feel”) 1 packet powdered ranch dressing mix 8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled 5 or 6 sliced green onions Optional garnishes: additional cooked crumbled bacon, sliced green onions
Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until completely smooth (1-2 minutes). Add the sour cream and beat for 1 more minute until thoroughly combined with the cream cheese. Stir in the cheese, ranch mix, bacon and green onions until well combined. Serve chilled, topped with additional bacon and green onions if desired.
Hot Virginia Dip (Courtesy of the Virginia Hospitality Cookbook and the Junior League of Hampton Roads)
Original recipe:
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 tbsp butter (Unsalted)
16 oz cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp milk
5 oz dried beef, minced
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 cup sour cream
4 tbsp onion, minced
Recipe as created above:
4 eight-ounce blocks of cream cheese, softened
16 oz cream cheese
10 oz dried beef, diced
4 tbsp milk
2 medium onions, diced
2 tbsp garlic salt
3 cups of pecan halves
1 stick unsalted butter
Either way you make the dish, the process is the same – I just needed to make it in much larger quantities.
In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, diced dried beef, garlic salt, diced onion, and milk and using a stand (or hand) mixer, beat to combine thoroughly (this is most easily done if your mixer has a paddle type attachment.
Melt butter in a large saute pan. Add pecans and toss to coat. Continue to cook until just scorched (the original recipe just says to saute). This does not add a burnt flavour or taste, but does add a je ne sais quoi flavour to the topping.
The original recipe makes enough for a 1 1/2 qt baking dish; the larger recipe makes enough for a 3 qt baking dish.
Turn out the cream cheese mixture into the appropriately sized baking dish; cover with sauteed pecans. Place in a 350 oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with bread sticks, crackers, Wheat Thins or Triscuits.
(N.B. – This dip does reheat well, but is one of the very few things The Wannabe Gourmet has found that does not have a pleasing taste if served cold. A chafing dish (solid fuel, alcohol based, or even electric) works wonders, and for smaller amounts (1 1/2 quart), I’ve found that even the chafing dishes that are heated by votive candles alone will keep the dip at a sufficiently heated temperature for all to enjoy — it goes QUICKLY.)
