Healthy Veggie Dip

I just came across a yummy recipe for veggie dip. I love snacking on carrots during the day but I need to be able to dip them in ranch. This recipe is perfect because it's pretty healthy so I don't have to feel guilty eating it with carrots. It's easy and you can adjust the seasoning to your preference.




Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low fat Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup low fat Cottage Cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 2/3 teaspoon celery salt

Directions

1. Put cottage cheese in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add yogurt, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery salt and blend until combined.

Source: Adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

Cheddar Cheese Fondue

My parents came over for dinner this past weekend and we had a fondue night! It was a lot of fun. We ate so much food that we were all stuffed! I made a cheese fondue and dessert. We didn't have a main entree because we didn't need it. I've been making this fondue recipe for a long time and to be honest I have no idea where it came from or how I came up with it. It's a great basic recipe. I'm sure you could add whatever you want to it: bacon and scallions or rotel. Some cheese fondue recipes are wine based, but I personally prefer the beer base.

We were too hungry to take the time out to grab pictures first. Sorry for no pictures!

Ingredients

• 1 pound grated cheese (I usually use 1/2 lb cheddar and 1/2 lb swiss. Gruyere and Emmentaler are even better but more expensive)
• 1 Tablespoon flour (enough to cover the cheese. This helps the cheese melt consistently.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 3/4 cup beer
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• garlic powder to your liking
• Items for dipping - We use bread, carrots, apples (yum!), celery, cauliflower and broccoli - Summer sausage is good too.

Directions

1. Mix the flour, cheese, garlic powder, and dry mustard together in a bowl.
2. Heat the beer until it starts bubbling. I usually do this over the stove and transfer it to my fondue pot because I don't know my fondue pot well enough. However, I read somewhere to put the fondue pot at 375 degrees.
3. Once the beer is bubbling, add the Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in the cheese a little at a time until the cheese is smooth and the consistency you like. You may not use all of the cheese.
4. Once the cheese is melted you can transfer to the fondue pot. Keep the pot on warm. It may need to be stirred a couple of times.

Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche

It's been really warm lately and I just wanted to make something light and fresh. I happened to have shrimp already so I thought a shrimp ceviche would be perfect. Typically ceviche is made with raw shrimp or fish. The citrus in the dish "cooks" the shrimp. I felt more comfortable cooking the shrimp first. I boiled the shrimp for just a couple of minutes and then put it right into an ice bath.

This recipe is delicious! Matt loved it. I served it with tortilla chips to scoop it up. It seemed more like an appetizer than a meal, so in the future I may use tostadas. This would be a great dish to serve at a picnic or potluck.

Ingredients

• 1 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice plus juice of 1 lime
• 4 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or to your liking)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
• tortilla chips or tostada

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil. Add the juice of 1 lime and shrimp. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Drain and add shrimp to an ice water bath. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine lime juice, shrimp, tomatoes, onion, and cilanto. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Remove from the refrigerator, and mix in the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Right before serving, add the avocado. Serve either with tortilla chips or tostadas.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Deviled Eggs

My friend had her baby shower today. She had a lot of people helping with the food, but I wanted to help too! So I made deviled eggs and pumpkin bars. I love deviled eggs but I'm kind of picky with them. I don't like relish or anything chunky in them and I don't like them to be too mustardy. This recipe, which I found on All Recipes, is really good. I add just a little extra mayonnaise to my liking and cut the salt down a bit. I make mine in the food processor and then use a piping bag to fill the eggs.

Ingredients

• 6 hard-cooked eggs
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Paprika

Directions

1. Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt; mix well. Stuff or pipe into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving.

Baked Vidalia Onion Dip

Several years ago, Matt and I went with my parents to a dinner party. The hostess made a vidalia onion dip that we all devoured. Last week, my mom needed an appetizer to take to a party and I suggested the dip. Ever since, I'd been craving it. She found several recipes, but we agreed that this one looked the best. It did not disappoint. Everyone loved the dip. I'm glad I used water chestnuts because I liked the crunch. I served this with butter crackers. My mom said the people at her party used sweet potato chips and loved it.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 3 large vidalia onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded swiss cheese
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 garlic clove, minced, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chopped Vidalia onions, and saute about 10 minutes or until tender.
3. In a large bowl, stir together shredded Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, water chestnuts, white wine, garlic and Tabasco sauce; stir in onion, blending well.
4. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, and let stand 10 minutes.