Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip

Adapted from Jo and Sue

Ingredients

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

14 oz caramels, unwrapped

2/3 cup half and half

2 Crunch bars

8 apples

8 (1/2 cup each) mason jars

Notes / Directions

Heat up caramels and half and half on medium heat until caramels have melted and the mixture is smooth.  Put cream cheese and 1/2 cup of caramel in a bowl and stir until smooth.  Scoop and flatten an equal amount of the cream cheese and caramel mixture into each of the 8 jars.  Top each jar with the remaining caramel sauce.  Crunch up the Crunch bars and sprinkle on top.

To turn into gifts, place one apple on top of the jar and place in a small, clear, plastic gift bag or cover with saran wrap.  Tie shut with a ribbon.

Onion Chip Dip

Ingredients
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 16oz tub sour cream
Celery flakes (dried and crushed from celery leaves)
Onion powder
Milk

Notes / Directions
Cream cream cheese. Add sour cream.  Add onion and celery flakes to taste, 1-2 teaspoons. Mix until smooth. Add a little milk until desired consistency. Serve with potato chips. Really good on baked potatoes too.

Chili Chip Dip

Ingredients
1 can Hormel chili "No Beans"
1 8oz pkg cream cheese

Notes / Directions
Put ingredients in small sauce pan and heat slowly until cream cheese is melted. Serve with Fritos or corn chips.

Spinach Artichoke Dip from the Olive Garden

Look no further for the perfect spinach artichoke dip recipe because this is THE ONE!!!  Straight from the Olive Garden's website.  They have other recipes on their site too.  Me and my husband were completely blown away that we could produce something so insanely good!  This dip is unparalleled!  I highly recommend making your own warm, moist, FRESH bread.  I made my french baguettes recipe, which is way better than anything you buy in the store.  Beware though, this is not the quantity of dip that you'd get at a restaurant.  It makes a lot of dip.  Like a 9x13 pan.  I think it would also work well in a round pie dish, it would just be thicker, but I haven't tried it yet.  AND don't leave anything out!!  Every ingredient has it's place.

Ingredients
2 artichoke hearts
1 lb cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (grate your own cheese; it tastes better and melts better)
1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves (I used dried thyme)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
5 green onions, chopped
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
1 6-oz pack fresh spinach, chopped

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Preparation for fresh artichokes:
Steam for 45 minutes with some lemon water.  Cool the artichokes.  Clean, peel, remove center "choke" and chop up into pieces.

Dip preparation:
Mix all ingredients together except the artichokes.  I did this in my kitchenaid.  Once everything is mixed well, fold in artichoke hearts.  Coat a large pan with pan spray; fill pan with mixture.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until bubbling and center is hot.  Garnish with parmesan cheese.

Bread preparation:
Cut bread into thin slices.  Lightly coat each side with olive oil (I skipped this part) and place on a cookie sheet.  Lightly broil each side so they are nice and crispy.