Ten years ago, I wrote my very first column for The New Mountain Tribune in Buckhannon, West Virginia. With three Super Bowl snack recipes, my weekly column Cooking Peas & Q’s was born. Each week, I focused on a different ingredient (or theme) and created one to three original recipes using it. To celebrate 3,652 days of food writing, I’m sharing one of the recipes I published that day and a recipe that I didn’t create but that I love. Both are great dips for watching the Super Bowl with friends.
This weekend marks the 49th Super Bowl game. NFL Super Bowl XLIX is the official name, but we all just call it “The Big Game,” The groundhog may have been able to predict the weather, but no one can predict who will win the match on Sunday. These recipes are easy to prepare and ideal for eating while you and your friends are watching the football game. Each may be served with warm tortilla chips.
Cheese and Salsa Dip
1 container cream cheese, softened
7 ounces salsa
2 ounces black olives, chopped (optional)
1. In a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese until softened. Mix in the salsa and stir until blended completely. Garnish the top with the black olives.
2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 24 hours. If you prefer to serve a warm dip, microwave the dish briefly before serving. Serve with red and blue corn tortilla chips for the festive occasion.
Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip
I LOVE this dip and Stephanie O’Dea’s Crockpot 365 recipe. I always make two substitutions when I make it though – I use dried red chilli flakes instead of jarred jalapeños and I use defrosted frozen spinach (I squish out the excess water). Otherwise, this is the perfect go-to spinach artichoke dip recipe. Here are photos of my most recent result.
The salsa and cheese dip was originally published in The New Mountain Tribune as part of my weekly print column, Cooking Peas & Qs.