RECIPE: Easy Baked Potato Dip

Recently I was lucky enough to be invited to watch a hockey game in a suite.  It was awesome: free food, free drinks, private bathroom and even a desert cart.  They had a dip there that was essentially a baked potato in dip form.  I've heard of similar dip called "crack dip" but mine is slightly different.

A. Who needs potatoes in it?  They're more work because you have to boil them and cut them up, they don't have very much flavor AND you're putting it on a cracker so why would you need another starch to the dip?

B.  Although Ranch Dip Mix and Sour Cream are not the same as Ranch Dressing, I have a major aversion to Ranch Dressing and I don't want to be involved with Ranch in any way.

So here is my super easy Baked Potato Dip Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 12oz Whipped Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 3 1/2oz Bacon Pieces
• 3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup Diced Green Onion
• 1/2tsp Garlic Powder

Mix all of these ingredients in a medium sized Tupperware container until everything is evenly distributed throughout the cream cheese.

After that, all you have to do is spread the dip on a club cracker and enjoy! :)

Recipe: Bacon Spinach Alfredo Pizza

This is a combination that I came up with a couple of weeks ago.  It's not always easy to come home from working 8 hour days and then cook dinner with your family.  And then, of course, you have to make sure to take out the meat for dinner one to two nights before otherwise you're in trouble.  This recipe doesn't require any thawing and is really quick and easy for those weeknights where you don't feel like making a complicated meal.

I always make two of these because we finish the first one that night and take the second one as leftovers for our lunches the next day.  I'm going to do this recipe for one pizza but feel free to double it for delicious leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1-2.5oz packages of real bacon pieces (from the aisle with the salad dressings)
• 1 pizza crust
• 1-15oz jar of Alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli Garlic Alfredo, but it's your preference)
• 2-8oz bags of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup of spinach
• 1/2tbsp of garlic powder
• 1/2tbsp of Italian seasoning

Preheat the instructions according to the directions on the pizza crust package.  Mine said to preheat the oven to 450 degrees and then turn it down to 425 degrees once you're ready to put the pizza in.  The directions for the pizza crust also said to drizzle olive oil on the crust so I did that as well.

Put your pizza crust on a crisper or a cookie sheet.  Place two large spoonfuls of Alfredo sauce on the crust and spread a thin layer all over the crust-- less is more in this case.  Don't put too much sauce or the pizza will fall apart. Sprinkle the garlic powder and Italian seasoning on top of the Alfredo sauce.  Rinse your spinach and dry it off on a paper towel then shred the spinach with your hands and sprinkle it on the pizza. Sprinkle the 8 ounces of mozzarella all over the pizza and then add the package of bacon.

Assembled before you put it in the oven.

Put the pizza in the oven for the amount of time directed in the instructions on the package.  I always cook it for the longer amount of time.  Sprinkle some parmasean on it when it comes out and you've got a quick and easy pizza.  :)

ENJOY!