09 November 2011

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

A couple of weeks ago at lunch I was at our Natural Grocers checking out my hummus options. I was careful to avoid the Teva brand because the avocado hummus I bought last time was so grody. I ate it all because I didn't want to be wasteful, but man that taste was not hummus and avocado like I expected. We've had that mix before and the whole family loves it, but this was not that. I noticed that they had a whole lot of dips and spreads by my favorite hummus brand - Blue Moose of Boulder - but no BMB hummus. My favorite is their chipotle hummus! Their hummus tastes fresh (closest to our home made) and has a thicker consistency that I like.

Anyway, I grabbed a tub of roasted red pepper dip to try with my pita chips. Back at the office I was pleasantly surprised. It's so good! It's made with neufchatel cheese, roasted red peppers, garlic and spices. I had to make myself not eat the whole tub in one sitting. I split it over 2 days of lunches. This was definitely something I needed to make at home.

I typically keep roasted peppers at home as well as garlic and when I saw that Homeland had neufchatel cheese on sale for 88 cents a brick tonight, I decided that tonight was the night (I also grabbed 4 bricks of the stuff!). While dinner was cooking (baked flounder marinated with Annie's Shiitake and Sesame dressing and steamed rice), I quickly blended a brick of neufchatel, a bulb of garlic (pressed) and a few pieces of roasted sweet pepper (red and yellow). I wasn't sure what "the spices" were so I didn't bother adding any...

The result was yummy! My whole family loved this dip with pita chips. I had to shoo the kids away so we'd have some leftover for lunch tomorrow. Something tells me we'll have to make this in bigger batches next time...

Roasted Red (& Yellow) Pepper Dip
Good Stuff, Maynard!
Also, here's a simple sauce that my mom taught me to make when I was little. It's a sauce to put over rice. Simply cut up tomatoes and onions and put into a small bowl and then cover with soy sauce. Let the ingredients get friendly while dinner is cooking and then spoon some over rice.

Tomatoes, Onions and Soy Sauce
Simple, Pretty & Tasty

Have you created anything simple and yummy lately, friends?

6 comments:

  1. I have never eaten hummus or neufchatel cheese. Your meal sounds very healthy. I wish my family would eat healthy foods like that. I don't know if I am brave enough to try hummus. That picture makes it look really good.

    The pita chips look really yummy. I think I'm going to see if I can find some. I've been hung up on salsa and chips. That is what I had for dinner. It's like a bacholer pad at our house. I make dad whatever he wants. My husband normally says he will make his own meal and I just grab something quick. When Blake is home its completely different.

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  2. Jackie TRY some hummus and also this red pepper dip! Hummus is basically bean dip but much healthier. Stacy's Simply Naked Pita chips are very good dipped in anything but I recommend the red pepper dip and the hummus. We love chips and salsa and guac in our house too!

    Neufchatel cheese is new to me but with 1/3 less calories than cream cheese with such a great taste, can't be bad. We don't do the fat-free stuff because that is disgusting but I won't shy away from neufchatel now. Will have to see how it fares in my spinach and artichoke dip next.

    Please do yourself and your family a favor and get or make some of these dips. I think you and they will love them.

    We don't always eat healthy, but I try to have some frozen fish around and rice is a gimme too. Last week we had those hotdogs from Sam's (so good) so it's not all good, but I think we all fairly balanced with our eating.

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  3. This sounds and looks delicious. I will have to give this a try. What a great alternative to salsa. Thanks for posting.

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  4. Wow great tips. Had no idea what the cheese was but, it sounds really good. Every one seems to love hummus so with your suggestion I might give all of this a try. Sure can't hurt that it's healthier that's for sure.

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  5. The tomatoes/soy sauce look soooo delectable (great photo)! How simple! Must try it. I'm all for simple, simple recipes with lots of flavor.

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  6. I grew up eating tomatoes & soy sauce. Adding green onions has got to be even better! Yum...,

    I love hummus, but haven't ever tried to make it myself... I'm thinking I should!

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