Pizza Dip

I saw the midnight showing of "The Hunger Games" last night.

Not surprisingly, the book was better. Always is.

BUT! The movie did a decent job of following the book with a few minor discrepancies. You'll have that.

I recommend the movie...but definitely the book first.

Have I mentioned I love dip? Yeah, I'm sure I have...but seriously I could (and do) often eat dip as a meal. Really nutritious I know but I frickin love the stuff. All kind of dip. Bring it on.

I made this pizza dip for the Super Bowl this year. It caught my eye on Pinterest and I thought it would be perfect for a football game. It's quite tasty but it wasn't until after I made it that I even realized there was no pizza sauce incorporated in the recipe. I find that odd...though it still tasted like pizza. I think I may try to create a recipe myself that includes pizza sauce. So standby ;)

(Also I feel the need to apologize for the photos. My pictures are never really that great but I had about 2 minutes to get any kind of picture before running out the door so there you have it!)

Pizza Dip
Adapted from Afarmgirlsdabbles.com

Ingredients:

2 c. shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
2 c. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/4 c. grated reduced-fat parmesan cheese
1 c. light mayonnaise
1 c. roughly chopped turkey pepperoni
1/2 c. small diced onion
1/2 c. small diced green pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can (6.5 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
3/4 c. roughly chopped black olives
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus a bit more cracked across the finished dip

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well to incorporate. Spread into a baking dish - either a large rectangle up to a 9" x 13" size, or a large pie plate. Crack a bit more black pepper over the surface and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and the top is golden brown. Sometimes I also place it under the broiler for a minute or two to get the top extra golden pretty. Serve with sturdy crackers or sliced & toasted baguettes.