Appetizers: Part 2, Dips and Spreads

The appetizers continue! We had a dinner that consisted entirely of appetizers on the final Sunday of December. Forgive the quality of the pictures...the lighting is so bad in the winter time!

Jalapeno Popper Spread

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
2 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chiles and jalapeno poppers. Pour mixture into a microwave safe serving dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Microwave on high until hot, about 3 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Denise Millar Ramsey. You can find it here.

Notes: I loved this. It was so tasty. Pretty spicy, but really, really good. You can use crackers or tortilla chips to dip in this.

Hot Corn Dip

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can white corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced and softened
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium baking dish, mix white corn, yellow corn, diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, cream cheese, chili powder, garlic powder, and cilantro.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Corinne Doubiago. You can find it here.

Notes: This was a crowd favorite. We served it with tortilla chips. This was a really nice change of pace from your normal appetizers.

Warm Blue Cheese Dip with Garlic and Bacon

Ingredients:

7 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup half-and-half
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove bacon from skillet, drain on paper towels and crumble.

Place garlic in hot bacon grease. Cook and stir until soft, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cream cheese and half-and-half in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until blended. Stir in bacon, garlic, blue cheese, and chives. Transfer mixture to a medium baking dish.

Bake covered in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by CSPALAIKA. You can find it here.

Notes: I really liked this. We served it on small slices of French bread (like the kind you would use to make bruschetta).

Blue Cheese Chicken Wing Dip

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 fluid ounces) can or bottle hot chicken wing sauce
6 tablespoons butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 ounce) bottle blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place chicken in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook 25 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Drain liquid from pot and shred chicken. Mix wing sauce and butter into pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes.

Spread cream cheese over the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking dish. Pour chicken mixture over cream cheese. Top with dressing.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until hot and bubbly.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Michelle. You can find it here.

Notes: This was a really good dip. You can serve it with crackers, tortilla chips, celery, etc.