Pumpkin Dip

A really easy and really, no I mean really, good dip for Fall!  It's so good that I could eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon... seriously, but is equally delicious with your favorite dippers.  We used Nilla Wafers, apples and pretzels, but there are plenty of options available.  Try some of your favorites!  

I found the original recipe here.  She has lots of other really good recipes that I will have to try, check out her blog!  

In the meantime, here's what you will need:

1- 15 oz can of pumpkin 

1- 5 oz box of instant vanilla pudding (use in it's powdered form, not as a pudding)
1- 16 oz container of cool whip  (full fat, low fat or no fat)

1/2- Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2- Tbsp Cinnamon

 Directions:

1. Mix pumpkin, pudding mix, cool whip, and pumpkin pie spice together (by hand) in a very large bowl.

2. Chill for several hours before serving.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve with fresh apples slices, vanilla wafers or ginger snaps (or your favorite dippers).

Now, I must confess that when I made this, I added the cinnamon at the same time as the pumpkin pie spice and stirred it into the dip and sprinkled with additional cinnamon.  A happy accident, I don't think I'd change a thing, but I've provided you with the original recipe and will leave you with the choice to cinnamon or not to cinnamon! 

 I hope you enjoy!!

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Tomorrow we are having a potluck at work and thought I'd bring this Pepperoni Pizza Dip.  I couldn't just make one for work I had to make one for home as well.  We got the recipe originally from Donna, found on lowcarbfriends.com.  See here.  It's been a family favorite ever since.

Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon oregano 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 cup pizza sauce 1/2 cup pepperoni sausage -- chopped 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese How To Prepare: Heat cream cheese, sour cream, oregano, garlic powder and red pepper. Spread evenly in a 9-10 inch pie plate then spread pizza sauce over heated mixture. Sprinkle with pepperoni and onion. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). Serve hot

When we make it, we usually will use either low fat or no fat cream cheese and sour cream... it will all depend on just how fat I feel at the moment.  This way I can almost convince myself that it's healthy... but wait, we also tend to use much more mozzarella, up to 2 cups... Okay so maybe it's not that healthy, but boy is it good!!   :)

Here we have the cream cheese mixture spread in the baking dishes (remember I doubled the recipe so I could make 2).  Next is the onion and pepperoni chopped and ready to add to the dish.

Here you see the sauce, onions and pepperoni added to the dish.  Once it's baked for 10 minutes or until slightly bubbly and heated through we add the mozzarella and continue baking until the cheese is completely melted.

We like to serve this dip with Ritz crackers.  Other great dippers would be tortilla chips, pita wedges or even cocktail breads.  

Enjoy!