Sun dried tomato, Red pepper, and Feta dip

A few months ago I attended my friend Christen's engagement party. There was an orange dip. I fell in love with it. I then spent the next month or so attempting to get ahold of the recipe from her, and after various emails amongst her aunts, I finally received a copy.



To save you the trouble of having to email her aunts, I'm going to share it with you.

3-5 cloves garlic
1 8oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
1 8oz. jar sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
¼ cup pepperocini, drained and stem removed
½ lb. feta cheese, block not crumbled
8oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ tsp. Worchestershire sauce
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley



In a large food processor blend garlic, roasted peppers, tomatoes, and pepperoncini until finely chopped.




Add feta, cream cheese, Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper; blend until smooth, about 1 minute


With motor running, gradually add olive oil and blend until incorporated.

Add basil and parsley and pulse until smooth


Makes 4 cups; serve with pita bread, chips or crackers, celery or cucumber slices.

To make pita chips, brush pita bread or flat bread with olive oil. Using pizza cutter, make small triangles. Bake in 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes.


Then eat it with your friends, and share the recipe.


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Mt. St. Helens - layer dip

My family has always called this Mt. St. Helens...because that's what it was called in the cookbook where my aunt found the recipe. It's very similar to what a lot of people call "Mexican Layer Dip", maybe exactly the same in some cases. But either way, it's easy to make, and everyone will love it.



Oh the excitement you can have with less than 10 ingredients...

You will need:
guacamole dip
sour cream (16 oz container)
a packet of taco seasoning
shredded cheese (the recipe calls for Cheddar and Monterrey Jack, but I tend to buy the pre-shredded blends that are a mix of several cheeses)
a tomato
a small bunch of green onions
a small can of minced olives

This will fit in a 13 x 9 casserole dish, or the equivalent. I've used disposable cake pans, round trays, etc., depending how fancy I want the end product to look. I also like to make it the day or so before the "event" because it just tastes better after it's sat awhile.

There is a big football game this weekend, and I am expected to join some people in tailgating. I figured this dip would be the perfect thing to contribute, so I'm making a double recipe.


We start with guacamole. Before you go thinking this is "real" guacamole, I assure you, it's not. It's actually guacamole flavored dip (you can typically find it next to the sour cream and french onion dips).


Next, mix the sour cream and taco seasoning. I usually do this within the sour cream container, but since I was mixing up two containers, I poured it in a bowl first.




Cheese comes next. I used to grate this myself, but now I buy the pre-shredded "fiesta" blend because I am lazy.


The last three ingredients are to add some color as well as flavor. But if I ever don't have one of these items, I'll make the dip without it, and there usually isn't a huge degradation of quality.

First chop up your tomato...


And spread it all over your cheese.


Keep up the good work, and add some chopped green onions.


Last but not least is our minced black olives. I buy these in a little can, and I never use the entire can...but that's the size container they come in, so that's what I buy. And I squeeze out the extra juice first.


I didn't even use the whole can on this huge double-batch dip. But regardless, I know my efforts will be appreciated.


It now goes into the fridge, until it's time to tailgate. Then we'll devour it with a collection of corn chips and tortilla chips.

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