When I got to grad school my parents gave me many things that would be useful in the kitchen. One of my favorite things is the Better Homes and Garden Cook Book. Seems boring, but there are lots of good recipes in there. This one is a favorite I make a lot when appetizers are necessary, especially during football season.
Here’s what you need:
- 8 ounces bulk sweet or hot Italian sausage (Sometimes I buy the Italian sausage that you grill and just take them out of the casing. It’s a package of 5. I use 3 and save the rest for spaghetti later!)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened (it’s important that this is softened because you have to stir the ingredients and cold cream cheese is difficult.)
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup light dairy sour cream (I use the regular kind. My arteries probably hate me.)
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
- 1/3 cup mild banana pepper rings, drained and chopped
- Crostini, bagel chips, blue corn tortilla chips, or sliced baguette-style French bread (to scoop up the dip of course!)
Here’s what you do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook the sausage, onion, red pepper and garlic until the sausage is brown. You can drain the grease if you want, but sometimes I’m lazy and don’t think it looks like much, so I just leave the grease in there. (Go big or home, right?) Set this aside. In a large bowl mix together all the white ingredients (both cheeses, milk, sour cream and mayo). Then add the spinach, banana peppers and sausage mix. Stir gently or else you will make a big mess. Unless you’re like me and you’ll make a mess no matter what.
Once you’ve got everything combined, place it in a 9 inch quiche dish or deep-plated pie dish. Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the dip is bubbly. Serve with whatever kind of chip you purchased (my favorite is the bagel chip).
Won’t have time to make this the day of your event? Once you get everything in the pie dish, you can cover it and chill for up to 24 hours. Still bake at 350, but for about 40 minutes to make sure that it’s warmed all the way through.
Go team!
Images courtesy clarity83.
