Making in the Kitchen: Hot Pizza Dip

Looking for a quick and tasty appetizer to have before an Italian meal that’s different from bread sticks? Ooooh, this is a good one. My mom gave me this recipe years ago, but for some reason this is the first time I’ve actually made it. (Why did I wait so long?) I was able to assemble it days before the meal so that all I had to do was pop it in the oven just before serving. I’d say it was a crowd pleaser for sure.

what you will need:

• 1  8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. sour cream (I used light)
• 1/4 c. Parmesan
• 1/2 t. garlic salt
• 1/2 c. your favorite pizza sauce
• 3/4 c. shredded mozzarella
• 1  3.5 oz. pkg. sliced pepperoni, finely chopped
• French bread, sliced thinly

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until nice and fluffy, then add the sour cream, parmesan and garlic salt. Oh good gracious. I could eat that by itself already. Spread it into a lightly greased dish. A pie plate would be pretty. This dish I used is a 8.5 x 5.5 inches.

Next spread your pizza sauce over the top of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with your mozzarella and then diced up pepperoni. Ta Da! You’re done! Now I covered mine and threw it in the fridge to use for later. But when you’re ready, set your oven at 350 and put it in there uncovered for a good 20 minutes — maybe a little longer. You just want it all hot and bubbly and melted.

Oh, and I almost forgot something to use for dipping! You could use pita chips seasoned with Italian seasoning, I suppose. But what I did was to thinly slice a skinny loaf of Italian bread. Then I cut each of those slices in half so that it was a nice dip-able piece. I didn’t want it too big, because it could break during dipping. My pieces were about 2 x 2 inches.  I laid them all out on a cookie sheet and sprayed them with olive oil. Then I sprinkled them with garlic salt and a little parsley for color. I set my oven to the ”toast” function and let them get crispy. If you don’t have a toast function, put them in an oven around 400 degrees and just keep a close eye on them until they’re slightly browned and nice and crunchy.

This went over well with my family. There were eight adults and two kids eating it, and we only had a tiny bit left over. Try it out and let me know how you like it!