After The Show PODCAST: Sam’s GROWN UP Christmas Wish.

Preheat oven to 350. Spread almonds on ungreased cookie sheet and toast in oven until browned approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Fry bacon strips until crispy; allow to cool them crumble. Combine toasted almonds, crumbled bacon, cheese, green onions, and mayo in a medium-size bowl; stir until thoroughly combined. Chill for 1 hour; serve with crackers.

This says it’s a dip, but you may want to use a pretty party knife to spread it onto crackers! Serve with heavy crackers or corn chips (it’s a thick dip!)

2. Sam’s Creamy Bacon Parmesan Dip

4 slices bacon, cooked
1/4 sweet onion
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Dice the onion and add to a hot skillet with the butter, over medium heat. Cook the onions until softened and just starting to brown, 5-10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the bacon, onion, cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add mixture to a small ovenproof dish and bake for 15 minutes. Serve with crackers or chips.

3. Jodi’s Pizza Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons Italian spices
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup pizza sauce

Mix cream cheese with Italian seasonings. Spread cream cheese mixture on a pie plate or shallow dinner plate. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of both the parmesan cheese and the mozarella cheese on top of the cream cheese layer. Top with the pizza sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top of the pizza sauce.

Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 5 minutes. (It will be hot!) Serve it with crusty french bread or crackers. Tip: You can double this recipe and put it in a glass casserole dish for parties.

4. Jodi’s Slow Cooker Spinach & Artichoke Dip

1 (10 oz) bag fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup milk
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste

Spray a slow cooker (I used a 4-quart slow cooker ) with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together spinach, artichoke hearts, sour cream, mayonnaise, onion, garlic, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and milk. Add salt and pepper as desired. Dump into your slow cooker. Place your cubed cream cheese on top of spinach/artichoke mixture, spread out as evenly as possible. Cook on high for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, or until ingredients are cooked through and the cream cheese is melted. Mix in the cream cheese keep dip on “warm” setting until eaten. Serve with crackers, bread, or vegetables.

5. Murphy’s Buffalo Chicken Layered Dip

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup cooked chicken breast/or shredded rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce
1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese salad dressing
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
French bread baguette slices, celery ribs or tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread cream cheese into an ungreased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Layer with chicken, wing sauce and salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with baguette slices, chips or celery sticks. If you want to be less brown and gooier – bake with foil on top. For browning, bake with no foil.

6. Chunky Guacamole

Pick avocados that are heavy but soft to the touch.

1 lb. ripe avocados, cut into quarters
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
½ cup chopped white onion
1 serrano chile, minced
2 tsp. Lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt

Combine all ingredients in bowl and mash with fork. Add water as needed for desired consistency. Chill, covered, for 1 hour. Serve with assorted chips. Process the ingredients in a blender for a smoother consistency if desired.

7. Loaded Ranch Dip

1 cup light sour cream (I prefer Tillamook)
1 cup light mayonnaise (I prefer Best Foods)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 lb bacon
3 to 4 green onions, sliced
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby and Monterey Jack)

Cook the bacon on both sides until crisp. Drain fat. Allow bacon to rest on paper towels until cool. Chop bacon into pea size crumbles and set aside. Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, and ranch dressing mix together in a bowl. Fold in the bacon, green onions, and shredded cheese. Enjoy with sturdy crackers. Keep cold.

8. Easy Hummus

1 clove garlic
1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, half the liquid reserved
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a blender, chop the garlic. Pour garbanzo beans into blender, reserving about a tablespoon for garnish. Place lemon juice, tahini, chopped garlic and salt in blender. Blend until creamy and well mixed.

Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and pour olive oil over the top. Garnish with reserved garbanzo beans.

9. Hot Crab Dip

2 (8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar, divided
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 tsp. paprika
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. lump crab meat
Toasted bread and crackers, for serving

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 cup cheddar, ¼ cup Parmesan, and mayonnaise. Add green onion, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, paprika, and lemon juice and mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in crab meat. Add dip to a medium oven-safe skillet and top with remaining ½ cup cheddar and ¼ cup Parmesan. Bake until bubbly and cheese is melty, about 35 minutes. Top with more green onions and serve warm with bread and crackers.

This recipe is from Delish.com!

10. Little Debbie Christmas Tree Dip

5 Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes
8 oz Cream Cheese softened
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
16 oz Cool Whip
⅓ cup Milk
Christmas sprinkles (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a large mix bowl. Mix with a hand-held mixer until well combined and mostly smooth. Note: There will be some lumps of the cake in the dip. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve cold topped with the sprinkles with your favorite dippers and enjoy!

This recipe is from Desserts on a Dime!

11. Out-of-this-World Corn Dip

3 (11 oz) cans MexiCorn (sweet corn & diced red and green peppers), drained
1 (7 oz) can chopped green chiles
1 (6 oz)can chopped jalapeno peppers drained and liquid added to taste
1/2 cup green onion chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (16 ounce) package shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2-3 bags Fritos Scoops corn chips

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except chips. Chill two hours to overnight. Serve with Frito Scoops corn chips.

This recipe is from Inspired by Charm!

12. Holly Clegg’s Eight Layered Greek Dip

1 (10 ounce) container roasted red pepper hummus
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, reconstituted
1/2 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese or crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons sliced Kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Spread hummus on 9-inch serving plate. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ingredients, refrigerate until serving time.

This recipe is from Holly Clegg’s Too Hot in the Kitchen cookbook!