Lightened-Up Dill Dip

I've shared some family recipes with you in the past, including Texas Sheet Cake and Templeton Taco Pie. Both have been huge hits, and this one will be no different. It's another recipe from the family cookbook my mom made for me, and one that John and I have both enjoyed on many occasions.

One of my favorite parts about this dip is that it goes in a Hawaiian round loaf (with the center cut out). It's the perfect bread to go with this, but I found that veggies are awesome with it as well. I lightened this up a bit and added a protein punch by making the base nonfat Greek yogurt (as opposed to mayo and sour cream). John said he couldn't taste a difference, and I know the girls appreciated the lighter fare.

This recipe is a breeze and will be the perfect thing for a cookout, shower or get together. Trust me, you will be glad you made it! And thanks to John's wonderful mom for the recipe! :)

Lightened-Up Dill Dip
Recipe adapted from my mother-in-law Leslie
Serves at least 8 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
*1 lb Hawaiian bread loaf (you can get another for extra dipping!)
*1/2 fat free sour cream (original recipe was 1 cup)
*1/2 cup light mayo (original recipe was 2 cups)
*2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt (you can play with the sour cream-mayo-yogurt ratio you like)
*5 tablespoons minced onion
*3 tablespoons parsley
*5 tsp dill weed
*5 tsp beau monde seasoning
*veggies for dipping (I used carrots, celery and bell peppers)

Preparation:
*Combine sour cream, mayo, Greek yogurt and seasonings in a bowl. Cover bowl and allow to sit in fridge overnight.

*Before serving, dig or cut out center of Hawaiian bread loaf. Transfer dip to the center. Serve with the bread you cut out and veggies. Eventually eat the loaf the dip is in!

And the chubby cheeks started early ;)

Black Bean, Sweet Corn & Red Pepper Salsa

Have you heard the great news yet? IU basketball beat Purdue Saturday night and the Patriots lost the Super Bowl! Now, to be honest, I don't care so much about the latter, except that as a die-hard Colts fan, John loathes the Patriots. (Sorry, Katie!) I would have had one cranky hubby on my hands if the Patriots won in Indy.

Anyhoo, one of my best friends, Ally, hosted a fabulous little get together with some of our girlfriends for the IU game, including our friend Amanda, who was a great sport being that she's a UK fan. Ally was making lots of appetizers to serve, and I offered to bring. Then I realized I didn't have too much in my fridge...

However, thanks to a few staples I always have in the kitchen (including black beans, frozen sweet corn, tomatoes and garlic), I was able to whip up this salsa, which was a nice compliment to the other tasty dishes Ally prepared for us. It came together in a flash, and I didn't really get any pictures of me making it because it is that easy.

All the girls seemed to really enjoy this, and Lindsey commented on how fresh it tasted. Love that! I think this is great as an appetizer, but is also super yummy for lunch, stuffed inside a nice whole wheat tortilla with grapes on the side. Mmmm :)

Black Bean, Sweet Corn & Red Pepper Salsa
Recipe by Call Me Mrs. Rapp
Serves 4-6 as an appetizer
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Ingredients:
*3/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
*1/2 cup sweet corn (I used frozen that I thawed)
*1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
*10-15 grape or pearl tomatoes, quartered
*1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
*1/2 red onion, diced
*2 large cloves garlic, minced
*1/2 teaspoon cumin
*1/2 teaspoon chili powder
*couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like it
*1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
*juice of 1 lime
*salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
*Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Make sure you mix it enough to evenly distribute the spices. Transfer to a serving dish (or keep it in your bowl!) and serve with tortilla chips.

ready to serve!

loving all the red! so bright!

Guacamole Salad

All I had to do was see a picture of this in Barefoot Contessa At Home (thanks again, Aunt Em!), and know that I wanted to make this asap. Not to mention my new obsession with Trader Joe's and its cheap produce! I thought I would eat this as a salad, or use it as a dip with tortilla chips. I did both. Because it was so tasty. And filling! But, if you look at the ingredients, guilt-free. I meant to serve this as an appetizer but it was so filling I at it as my entire meal. John said he'd never thought a salad smelled so good!

Guacamole Salad
Recipe by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)
Serves 4-6 for entree (depending on portions) or more for appetizer
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Ingredients:
*1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
*1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced
*(I also added 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced)
*1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
*1/2 cup small-diced red onion (I used 1/2 red onion)
*2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers (I skipped this)
*1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
*1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
*1/4 cup olive oil
*1 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp ground black pepper
*1/2 tsp minced garlic
*1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
*2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2-inch diced

Preparation:
*Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, (jalapeno peppers if you're doing this), and lime zest in a large bowl.


*Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. Pour over vegetables and toss well.

*Just before you're ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature (with chips, if you want!).

First batch of ingredients. Look how bright and colorful!

Mixed and ready for dressing and avocados!

Loooove avocado

Beautiful! And delicious! And healthy!

And for the record the avocado stayed nice and green overnight. I ate this for lunch today, and my avocados looked great. I suggest saving the pit and storing it with that, because it helps the avocado keep its color (in addition to the lime juice).