Category Archives: Dips

Fresh Homemade Tzatziki- dress up chicken, veggies, a spoon!

Posted on by

0

Well thank goodness Vancouver! I woke up this morning feeling drowsy, I noticed the blazing sunlight and figured I had slept through the morning. Feeling terrible about wasting my day, I pulled myself out of bed to discover that it was 8:30am! What an incredible day! I cruised outside for a stroll, lingering in the sun. It is not summer-warm yet, but it feels incredible and I am once again thrilled to live in this city! Feeling summery I am back on track with bright and fresh food, this dip is no exception!

Tzatziki

Continue reading →

Make your own Cranberry Sauce!

Posted on by

0

CranberrySauce

Once again, we’ve come around to making something homemade rather than buying it. The things I prefer to make than buy: Mayo, Eggnog, Taco Spice mix, Dry Rub, Curry blend, Sausage spice, Bacon Jam, Beer Bread, Pita and every baked good ever.

Homemade cranberry sauce can be tweaked to your desire, but really, those freshly burst berries are awesome anyway you go about it. Dollop on a plate piled with Turkey or Tofurkey and your night is set.

Cranberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups cranberries (use wild berries if you can, but those gargantuan ones in the store will do too)
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar into the orange juice. Heat until the sugar disolves.
  2. Stir in the cranberries, and cook uncovered until they begin to burst, about 10 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.
  4. The sauce will thicken as it cools, if it seems too thin put it back on the heat for 5 minutes and allow to cool again.
  5. Serve!
Giant berries.

Giant berries.

Bursting with deliciousness.

Bursting with deliciousness.

Cookie Dough Dip

Posted on by

1

Another cookie dough related post! This was the second dip I brought to my friends’ party, the first being the glorious, much loved Buffalo Chicken Dip. This dip was also well-received, served with simple cookies and some apple slices. It is sweet but not too sweet, fluffy, and distinctly tastes of a lovely cookie dough. Wanted to try this type of a sweet dip, enjoyed it, may make it in the future.

Cookie Dough Dip

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 – 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Cream together cream cheese and butter.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well-combined.
  3. Serve with light cookies (in flavour, try to find sturdy cookies, this dip is fluffy but still needs a strong cookie, the ones I picked were a little delicate) or apple wedges. Also, nearer the end of the night, some were eating this with carrots which they claimed tasted like carrot cake… so, to each their own. This dip is good to make the day before, it stayed fluffy and smooth overnight.

Whipping it all together.

Gen is doing some stellar hand-modelling.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Posted on by

3

I know, I am dip-crazy lately. Dips are easy, delicious, and you can make a few for a single event, perfect! This dip was the result of my Googling “best dip ever.” And it was pretty amazing! There are only five ingredients (a tiny change from the original recipe) and it is killer, it tastes just like hot wings dipped in ranch dressing, but you scoop it up with a chip or some celery. You can mix it up with some blue cheese dressing if that’s your thing too, it’s not mine. Make this this weekend for that party you have to go to. Or, if you have no parties, make this anyway so you have some delicious to eat all weekend, by yourself…

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Found in the Chowhound forums.

Serves: a small party  ♦ Time: aside from boiling the chicken… 10 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking, 10 minutes cooling → 1 hr total

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 2 pounds, boiled and shredded with 2 forks (you can also use a roasted chicken from the store)
  • 1 1/2 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce (whole 12oz bottle) (do NOT substitute, this is the only sauce to give the wing flavour, it’s not too spicy, don’t worry)
  • 2 – 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 bottle Ranch dressing (450ml, 16oz) (try with blue cheese dressing, or half ranch and half blue cheese!)
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a medium bowl, toss together the shredded chicken and the Frank’s. Spread the chicken in an even layer in the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
  3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream cheese and entire bottle of Ranch dressing, stirring til hot and smooth (mine never got totally smooth, but it was even, good enough!). Pour this mixture evenly over chicken mixture.
  4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
  5. Add the shredded cheese and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes or til bubbly.  Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Serve with celery and chips for scooping and devouring!

Ready to spread the ranch-cream cheese mixture.

I was too slow to get a pristine picture. This dip went quickly, it is fabulous!

Walnut Feta Dip

Posted on by

1

I was inspired to create this dip by this recipe of the same name. As I’ve mentioned before, we have been eating a lot of walnuts lately and we had a ton of feta left over from the pizza, so it was the perfect time to try out this dip. I always make a point of making something once before adjusting it. This time, it only took me as long as I mixing it to know it needed some adjustments to be right for me. I’ve done so much to the original recipe that I will be calling it an inspiration rather than an adaptation. The original was good, but was a little much for me, with some changes this dip is rich but also lighter and brighter.

Walnut Feta Dip

Inspired by Princess Misia’s Roasted Walnuts & Feta Dip

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts (halves, shelled)
  • 2 cups of feta
  • a tsp of brine if you want
  • 1/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 lemons worth of juice
  • 1/4 cup milk

Directions

  1. Place everything in a food processor and blend into as smooth as possible/as smooth as you’d like. Taste, adjust flavours as necessary (maybe more lemon, maybe some of your favourite herbs).
  2. Serve with veggies, pita, chips, a spoon.