I made Tex-Mex Cream Cheese Dip for a Boy Scout pot luck dinner earlier this week. I was pressed for time, so this quick and easy dip was something easy that I could put together after work and send along shortly after.
My crock pot came home empty as usual, and my son said that his friends loved the zesty dip. I know this meaty dip is popular and works fine to send in place of a main dish, since it's rich and filling. I mix it up and send it warm in a crock pot with a Tupperware container of Nacho chips.
I started thinking about the Mexi-dip last night, and I got up and made another batch. That's one thing about making it for a party. It's gone - no leftovers.
Tex-Mex dip can be mixed up and heated in a crock pot or if you need to have it ready quicker, melt it down on top of the stove and transfer to a crock pot to keep it piping hot.
Tex-Mex Cream Cheese Dip
- 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
- 1 16 oz. jar thick and chunky salsa
- 1/2 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey, sausage)
Directions:
- Brown the meat in a skillet and drain off the extra fat. Use a fork to break the ground meat into small chunks. For a milder dip, use hamburger, turkey or mild sausage. For a spicier dip, use hot sausage.
- Cut the cream cheese into chunks and put it in a crock pot or sauce pan. Stir in the salsa and meat and put the temperature on low until the cheese melts. Stir occasionally so that the dip does not stick.
- For mild dip, use mild salsa and for spicy dip use a hotter salsa. Do go with the thick style salsa, or the dip will be thin. It still tastes great, but it's hard to catch with the chips.
- Once the dip is melted down and looks like dip, it's ready to serve. Even when I make it on top of the stove, I generally put the dip in a crock-ette or crock pot to keep it good and warm. The low setting works great for that.
- For parties, I generally double the recipe. The basic recipe looks skimpy in the small standard sized crock pot. It's a bit much for the smallest size crock-ette (so I just add more as the level goes down).
