One thing my husband would change about me? My love/hate relationship with sports. See, he grew up a hockey player + a sports lover to the max. I grew up playing sports, but in a “go out there and fun” kind of way. So, I guess I never really took sports seriously, or got that into it. Still to this day, I complain when I know a long baseball game will be on t.v., or when four hours of a saturday will be spent with my husband glued to the t.v. Hello football season, goodbye husbands.
I do enjoy going to sporting events though. To me, it’s an entirely different experience. One thing you won’t catch me complaining about though, is the food that comes along with football season. This year, I am going to do my best to focus on the food, and less on the game. Maybe use food as my distraction for the time spent wasted watching our Cleveland teams lose? I’ve got a new attitude towards sports this year, and I know Dan will be ever so grateful.
This dip will definitely be thrown into the mix a few more times this season. We made it a few weekends ago, and it turned out better than I had expected. The original recipe was a little over loaded with fat. This was, although still not healthy, doesn’t make you feel AS guilty indulging in it as the first recipe! The topping was supposed to be Ritz crackers with melted butter and parmesan cheese (a lot of it ) and I simply used bread crumbs with olive oil and it worked out great. I used low-fat cream cheese, which usually has a higher sodium count, however, it was only 10mg, so worth cutting back on the fat. And, finally, using a mayo based with olive oil made this dish even lighter. So snack away! Whether you love football season or not, I guarantee you will love this dip!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 8oz packages of 1/3 fat cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Kraft Mayo made with Olive Oil ( 1/2 the calories + fat of regular mayo )
- 6-8 pieces of cooked crispy bacon, chopped
- 1/4 cup diced green onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup of jarred jalapeño. Remove the seeds + chop. (get hot or mild, whatever you and your guests will prefer … adding more or less)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
- drizzle of olive oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350* Spray a 9×9 pan with non stick spray
In a large bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese and mayo. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, jalapeño ,bacon, and cheeses. Stir everything together until everything is evenly incorporated.
Spread the dip evenly into the prepared dish.
In a small zip lock bag, add the bread crumbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Shake it up to get all the bread crumbs wet. Add the bread crumbs in a nice even layer over the dip.
Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes, or until the dip is slightly golden and bubbly.
Recipes inspired from :