• Barbara Bush's Crab or Clam Dip
• Black Bean Dip
• Cheesy Beer and Spinach Dip
• Chickpea and Rosemary Dip
• Cranberry Cheese Spread
• Crudites with Garlicky White Bean Dip
• Italian Dip with Crostini
• Put Everything In It Mexican Surprise
• Pear Gorgonzola Butter
• Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Spinach Artichoke and Bacon Dip with Crispy Pitas
• Spinach Artichoke and Cheeses Wrap or Dip
• White Bean Puree
• Wild Mushroom Spread

Would you like to print these recipes? You can download each recipe in PDF format by clicking on the icon at the left of each recipe title.

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Black Bean Dip
Recipes courtesy of Coastal Living magazine

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• dash of hot sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix in food processor and serve with chips or your favorite raw vegetables.

Sweetnicks' Notes: Incredibly easy to make, tasty and healthy to boot!

Cheesy Beer and Spinach Dip

• 2/3 cup beer
• 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring beer to a boil. Lower heat. Slowly stir in Monterey Jack cheese and flour. Cook and stir until cheese is melted but not bubbly. Mix spinach, cilantro, salt and pepper into the beer mixture. Serve warm.

Sweetnicks' Notes: Next time, I'd use half Cheddar/half Jack cheese for more of a flavor impact.

Cranberry Cheese Spread
Recipe from Nan November 2005 Supper Club

• 1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¼ tea cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1-16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• assorted crackers

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, honey & cinnamon until smooth. Spread onto a serving plate. In a bowl mix cranberry sauce until it reaches a spreading consistency. Spread over cream cheese. Sprinkle with almonds, cover and refrigerate 1-3 hours. Serve with crackers and enjoy.

Crudites with Garlicky White Bean Dip

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 medium minced garlic cloves
• 15-1/2 oz canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1-1/2 tablespoon water
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

To prepare, heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and saute garlic, stirring constantly, until garlic just begins to turn golden, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. In a food processor, combine oil mixture, beans and lemon juice. Process until smooth, slowly adding 1-2 tablespoons water to obtain a thick yet creamy consistency. Season to taste. Transfer dip to a small bowl and garnish with paprika. Serve with prepared vegetables (i.e., carrots, cherry tomatoes, etc.).

Sweetnicks Note: Love this dip, and so healthy! Recipe courtesy of Weight Watchers.

Italian Dip with Crostini

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup Fontina cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (I used basil and oregano)

Mix all together and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top and cracked black pepper. Serve with crostini for dipping.

Pear Gorgonzola Butter

This butter is a nice staple during the holidays on crackers, baked potatoes, or muffins. Make it a few days before the party, and store in the refrigerator.

• 1/2 cup chopped canned pear halves, drained
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 tablespoon (1 ounce) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) loaf French bread baguette, cut into 12 slices and toasted

Combine all ingredients except bread in a small bowl; mash with a fork until well blended. Serve with bread.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 tablespoon butter and 1 bread slice)

NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 78(22% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 1.3g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 3g; CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 27mg; SODIUM 186mg; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13g

Spinach, Artichoke and Bacon Dip with Crispy Pitas Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 cups

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 10 bacon strips, fried until crisp and crumbled
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (added a bit more)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Crispy Pitas, recipe follows

Heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium low heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallot softens and the garlic begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Put the spinach in a colander and squeeze out all of the excess water. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the artichoke hearts, crumbled bacon, cooked garlic and shallot, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix well with a rubber spatula, and transfer to a decorative bowl. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving so the flavors can blend. Serve with crispy pitas.

Crispy Pitas:

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 pitas, cut into 4 wedges each, then separated

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all of the herbs and spices in a small bowl. Put the pita wedges flat on a greased cookie sheet. Drizzle with vegetable oil and then evenly distribute the herbs amongst the pita chips. Place cookie sheet into the top half of the preheated oven until they are crispy and lightly brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool 10 minutes and mound around the dip bowl.

Wild Mushroom Spread
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray, from her Veggie Meals cookbook

• 24 crimini mushrooms (baby portobellos)
• 12 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley

Wipe mushrooms with damp paper towel and coarsely chop. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add butter, olive oil, garlic mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook mushrooms for 10 minutes, until tender and dark. Add sherry and allow liquid to reduce for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Let mushrooms cool 5-10 minutes before adding parsley and pulse grinding into a paste. Serve with bruschetta.

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