Cheesy Bacon & Chives Dip

I first had this dip last year at a "girl's night in" party, where my friend Angela made it. She had gotten the recipe from a friend at a different party she had attended earlier in the year. Well we all LOVED IT so needless to say, Angela passed the recipe down to many of us at the party. It's one of the easiest dips you can make and I have yet to find one person that doesn't like it! If it was up to my husband, I'd make it every week! LOL :)

16 oz container sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
4.5 oz package of real bacon bits
1/2 cup chives

Directions 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Melt cream cheese in the microwave for about 45 seconds in a mixing bowl, then mix all other ingredients together with the cream cheese. Mix well.

3. Pour into a 8 x 8 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Now I have many friends that do not like onions so they like to leave out the chives, but I completely disagree. I love onions and think the chives are a great addition to this dip!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

This is another popular dish at the holidays and it's my first time making it. The recipe is from All Recipes website and I made just a couple changes.

20 oz frozen chopped broccoli

16 oz Velveetta cheese, cubed (or other processed American cheese)

3 bags instant rice
10.75 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup

10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

1. Cook broccoli and rice accordingly to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Mix the cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and cubes of cheese in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Heat in oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

3. Add broccoli, rice, milk, and salt & pepper to the mixture. Mix well and sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese on top.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This seems to be a popular holiday dip so decided I must make it! Now most of the recipes seemed to have mainly a mayo base, but since I'm not a huge fan of mayo I decided to change it up a bit.

10 oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
14 oz can artichoke hearts (chopped)
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup italian four cheese blend (mozzarella, mild cheddar, provolone, & asiago)
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine spinach and chopped artichoke hearts in a small baking dish
3. In a mixing bowl heat the cream cheese in the microwave for 1 min 30 secs
4. Add the mayo and sour cream to the cream cheese. Mix well.
5. Add this mixture to the baking dish (with the spinach and artichokes), add the garlic powder and cheeses (saving 1/2 cup of each cheese).
6. Mix all ingredients well in the baking dish
7. Top the dip with the rest of the cheese (1/2 cup parmesan, 1/2 cup italian blend)
8. Bake for 30 minutes

Enjoy! This dish went over very well at my in-laws, it was gone in a matter of minutes! It's incredibly easy and very yummy, you can't go wrong!

Banana Pudding

I needed to bring a dessert to our Thanksgiving dinner so I decided on Banana Pudding a family favorite. I found the recipe at the All Recipes website. I use the same ingredients, but I layer mine differently.

1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 5 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 8 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 bananas, sliced
1/2 package vanilla wafers

Directions
1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Let set in fridge for 5 minutes. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

2. Layer the pudding mixture, wafers and bananas. Top with remaining whipped topping, add a few wafer crumbs and chill.

This is a very rich dessert, but it is oh so good! Yum!