Super Bowl Sunday

Here it is the Friday after Super Bowl Sunday and I am just sitting down to write about the dishes I prepared. The good news is, both dishes were really good. The first recipe I followed was a seven layer dip from cooks.com. At first I felt as though I was taking the easy way out because a seven layer dip is so common. After giving it some thought, I decided that as long as it was a recipe that I had never made before, it was fair game. I guess it is the overachiever in me coming out again. I have always had this feeling that something doesn't count unless it is a challenge. As I'm getting older and hopefully wiser, I am trying to give myself more latitude. Why can't something count just because it's fun? Okay, back to the task at hand......

This seven layer dip had a few tweaks that made it interesting. First of all, it had called for 3 large smashed avocados with lots of lemon juice and second of all, it called for 1/2 cup low fat mayo added in with the sour cream layer. The third element that made it interesting is that I decided to prepare it with organic ingredients. The recipe included refried beans, avocados, fresh lemon juice, taco seasoning, sour cream, mayonnaise, green onions, whole black olives and tomatoes. It definitely wasn't brain surgery but it tasted great. I served it with organic white tortilla strips and organic blue corn chips.

The second recipe I prepared is from one of my favorite appetizer cookbooks called "Skinny Dips". The recipe is Baked Mozzarella Marinara Spread. This is delicious! I chose to prepare this dish with 100% organic ingredients so it was even healthier than it was meant to be. The tomato sauce is first slow cooked and then later baked in the oven. I am including the recipe below because it received rave reviews and I personally loved it. I served it with sliced fresh french bread and it was absolutely perfect. What made it even better is that there was an ample amount so I used the left-over portion as a pizza sauce on a homemade pizza that I baked on Tuesday night. By homemade I mean a wheat pizza dough from Great Harvest Bread, freshly chunked pineapple, fresh basil and Canadian bacon that I assembled. Perhaps home-assembled pizza would be a more accurate description. :)

Baked Mozzarella Marinara Spread:

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups minced Walla Walla or other sweet onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 can crushed tomatoes in thick puree (14.5 oz can)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup tomato paste or tomato puree

1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 1/2 tbsp finely minced fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

3/4 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella

In a 10 inch nonstick saute pan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic and sugar. Saute, stirring frequently until onion glistens and begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, including juice from can, along with water, tomato paste/puree and crushed red pepper (this recipe has a kick to it so if you don't prefer spicy food or you are feeding kids, you can omit or use a pinch of red pepper flakes). Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Adjust heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until tomato mixture is thick, about 45 minutes. Add basil, parmesan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to an oven-to-table shallow baking dish.

Position oven rack about 4 inches below heat source and preheat broiler. Scatter mozzarella evenly over marinara spread. Broil until cheese bubbles and is beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

You will not be disappointed!