Long Time, No Recipe!

This time of year finds us all very busy for a number of reasons - between the holidays, work, family, various obligations, more work, parties, etc. etc.

We found ourselves this past week in addition to the actual day of Thanksgiving, in a position where we were contributing to both a pre and post Thanksgiving parties. Fortunately, both parties we were asked to bring an appetizer.

Even better, the appetizer was so deliciously simple for the pre-Thanksgiving party and such a hit that we decided to make it again later in the week for the post party. Now, of course there are plenty of appetizers you can make it - but we have one we would like to share with you because it is EASY to make, does not take much TIME to complete, it is CHEAP and is sure to be a HIT!

This is what you need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup thawed frozen chopped spinach (We used fresh Spinach)
  
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (We put in more pepper flakes Kelly luvs RPF)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely diced red bell pepper for garnish
  
• Does not call for garlic but WE LOVE GARLIC, so we diced a few cloves!
• Note: We doubled the above recipe, sans the cream cheese (just one package kept the dip perfectly creamy)
  

Directions

1. Bring the cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat and add the 1 cup of diced red pepper and the chopped spinach. Bring the water back to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the pepper is very soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the spinach and red pepper in a colander, pressing out as much liquid as possible.
2. Combine the cream cheese and milk in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until hot and softened. Stir in the cooked spinach and red peppers, Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and ground black pepper. Continue to stir until well combined and heated through.
3. Spoon hot dip into a serving dish and serve with the tablespoon of finely diced red bell pepper sprinkled on top for garnish.

ps - The recipe suggests you serve it with a warm or toasted bread and vegetables. We used some cut up orange and yellow bell peppers cut into thin strips as well as some Stacy's Asiago Cheese Pita Chips.