Fun Foods Friday - Dips Edition

This week, I am going to share with you two dips that are just simply delicious. I made them for a party recently and they went over like wildfire! So enjoy.

Both of these recipes were taken from Allrecipes.com (I love this website!)

**Quick Edit** With the pizza dip I served breadsticks. I also read you can do crackers, garlic bread, veggies. And with the artichoke I served Italian bread and I was going to do pita chips, but forgot to pick some up.

Hot Pizza Dip

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
2 ounces pepperoni sausage, chopped
2 tablespoons sliced black olives

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil.
2. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with green pepper, pepperoni and olive slices. Cover, and microwave for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Deni's Notes: I just did mine in a microwavable plastic dish - it was easy and I stored it in there. Also, instead of the oregano, basil and parsley I just used pizza seasoning and I added it to the pizza sauce too. I didn't do the green peppers or olives. I am still eating it today!

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Artichoke and Spinach Dip Restaurant Style

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.
3. In an 8x8 inch baking dish, spread the roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.
4. Cover and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

Deni's Notes: First of all, the smell of roasted garlic is yummy! And I would suggest putting a little foil over the top, as when I did it one of the cloves popped out of the container. Also, I ended up doing it for about 40 minutes...the cheese didn't melt very well and it didn't get warmed through very well so I had to stick it in for an extra 10 minutes uncovered.

Enjoy!