Bruschetta Cream Sauce

Photo Credit: Torbakhopper

Bruschetta is a tasty dish that is perfect for use as an appetizer. Often served in Italian restaurants, bruschetta is easy to make! Simply toast a thin slice of Italian bread and top it with pepper, salt, olive oil, tomatoes, and basil. Yum!

We’ve captured the savory taste of bruschetta in a mix you can use as a dip at a party or for seasoning your food. As you prepare to make your family a delicious dinner with our Bruschetta Cream Sauce, read through these fun bruschetta facts!

1. Bruschetta originated in Central Italy in the 15th century and has today become a menu staple in all Italian restaurants and kitchens.

2. Marcella Hazan however believes that the origin of the dish can be traced back to ancient Rome. According to Marcella, olive growers back in ancient Rome would bring the olives to local olive press and use a bread slice to taste the sample of their freshly-pressed oil.

3. Marcella’s belief comes from the fact that the noun Bruschetta is derived from a verb bruscare from Roman dialect. Bruscare literally means ‘to roast over coals’.

4. There may be variations in toppings such as cheese, cured meat, beans, vegetables, mozzarella, or onion.

5. Brustolina grill is usually used to grill the bread. In Italy’s Abruzzo region, bruschetta is made using a type of salami known as ventricina. Ventricina is nothing but pepper and raw pork encased and aged in a pig bladder to form a paste. The paste is then spread on open bread slices and grilled. This in particular is a method of using bread that was becoming stale.

6. Bruschetta is known as fettunta in Tuscany. This variation does not have any toppings except the olive oil. Fettunta is actually served in November and is meant for tasting the season’s first oil.

Bruschetta Cream Sauce

 Ingredients:

3 tbsp. Butter

1 cup Heavy Cream

½ cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 package Simply Savory Bruschetta Dip Mix

Directions:

1. Heat the butter and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling, but do not boil. 
2. Add the mozzarella cheese and stir until melted. 
3. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the Bruschetta. 
4. Serve over pasta, chicken, or steak. 

Vidalia Onion Hamburgers

What’s an all-American food that nearly anyone can appreciate? Hamburgers! Throw ’em on a grill for a cookout and enjoy the savory taste of a well-seasoned burger.

Though hamburgers are a fairly universal fare, they come in many varieties. You can have a classic burger with lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, and mustard, or a fancy burger topped with avocado, bacon, and cilantro sour cream.

However you eat your burger, one thing’s for sure: the best burgers have the best seasoning. To give your burgers a savory flavor, try our Vidalia Onion Hamburger recipe.

Vidalia Onion Hamburgers

Ingredients

1 (1 1/2 lb.) package Ground Beef

1 package Simply Savory Vidalia Onion Dip Mix

1 package Hamburger Buns

Desired Condiments and Toppings

Directions

1. Mix ground beef and Vidalia Onion dip mix until thoroughly combined.
2. Shape mixture into hamburger patties and cook until meat reaches 160°F.
3. Serve with buns and toppings.

Sweet Pepper & Tomato Chicken Spaghetti

Italian night!

Chicken Alfredo is a classic dinner favorite, but even the classics can use a new spin. Our Sweet Pepper & Tomato Chicken Spaghetti is a blend of spaghetti and Chicken Alfredo, with a delicious Sweet Pepper & Tomato flair!

Use it for an easy potluck dish, a quick dinner, or as a meal for a family in need. However you serve it, you’ll be sure to serve seconds and maybe even thirds. Yum!

Sweet Pepper & Tomato Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 (15 oz.) jar Classico Sundried Tomato Alfredo sauce

1 package Simply Savory Sweet Pepper & Tomato Dip Mix

1 (14.5 oz.) can Diced Tomatoes, drained

2 cups Cooked Chicken, cubed

1 tbsp. Sugar (optional)

1 (8 oz.) package Spaghetti, uncooked

Directions

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, combine the Classico Sundried Tomato Alfredo sauce, Sweet Pepper & Tomato dip mix, diced tomatoes, chicken, and optional sugar.
2. Cook sauce on medium-low, stirring occasionally.
3. Cook the spaghetti according to its package directions.
4. Drain the cooked spaghetti and mix in the sauce.

Chocolate Mousse Parfaits

Photo Credit: Andrea Goh

Chocolate and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand and that’s why we’ve chosen Chocolate Mousse as our dip of the week.

This week’s recipe is for delicious Chocolate Mousse Parfaits, simple to make and easy to customize for your own preferences! But, before we get to the recipe, let’s get to some fun facts about the holiday of love:

Did you know…

• More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold for Valentine’s Day each year.
• On average, men shell out $130 each on candy, cards, jewelry, flowers and dates. That’s more than double what women commit to spending.
• About 8 billion candy hearts will be produced this year; that’s enough candy to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Arizona 20 times and back again.
• About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in the US each year. That’s the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
• Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given for Valentine’s Day each year.
• Women purchase 85% of all valentines.
• In order of popularity, Valentine’s Day cards are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
• 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine’s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
• Men buy most of the millions of boxes of candy and bouquets of flowers given on Valentine’s Day.
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
• The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine’s Day.
• Richard Cadbury invented the first Valentines Day candy box in the late 1800s.
• Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, an “Improvement in Telegraphy”, on Valentine’s Day, 1876.
• The oldest surviving love poem till date is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians around 3500 BC.

Neat, huh? Now, let’s get to the chocolate!

Chocolate Mousse Parfaits

Ingredients

1 package Simply Savory Chocolate Mousse Dip Mix

1 (8 oz.) package Cream Cheese, softened

1 (8 oz.) tub of Cool Whip, defrosted (If you are looking for an all-natural alternative to Cool Whip, try TruWhip or CocoWhip. We’ve tried and liked both!)

Layering Goodies (Fruit, Crushed Cookies or Graham Crackers, Candy, Marshmallows, etc.)

Directions

1. Mix the dip mix with softened cream cheese and defrosted Cool Whip.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2. Place a scoop of Chocolate Mousse dip in the bottom of a tall glass and top with your desired goodies. Continue alternating dip and goodies until the glass is filled.
3. Serve immediately to keep your goodies from getting soggy. Enjoy!

Big Blue Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

It’s almost Super Bowl time!

Even if you’re not a football fan, Super Bowl Sunday is an exciting time. Friends choose sides, whether or not their team is playing, and get together to have an evening full of good-natured trash talk and cheering.

By far, the highlight of any Super Bowl party is the food.

Wings, chips, dip, salsa, pizza, burgers, brats, and so much more.

For this week’s recipe, we’ve combined two Super Bowl favorites: Buffalo Chicken and Mac & Cheese. Score a touchdown with our Big Blue Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese and get ready to make the crowds cheer!

Big Blue Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Ingredients: 

1 package Simply Savory Big Blue Buffalo Dip Mix

1 (8 oz.) package Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Sour Cream

3 cups Elbow Macaroni, uncooked

2 cups Cooked Chicken, cubed

2 tbsp. Butter, melted

1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs

1/2 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles (optional) 

Directions:

1. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and Big Blue Buffalo dip mix.
2. Boil the macaroni according to the package directions.
3. Drain the macaroni and return it to the pan.
4. Mix in the Big Blue Buffalo mixture.
5. Mix in the cubed chicken.
6. Pour into a greased casserole dish.
7. Mix the melted butter with the panko breadcrumbs and optional blue cheese crumbles.
8. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the macaroni.
9. Bake @ 350°F for 30 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are brown.