Lemon Cucumber Dill Dip

Cucumbers abounded at this past week’s farmer’s market. Despite our rough past (I choked on some seeds as a child and held a grudge for quite some time) I decided that cucumbers sounded good. I also had a cook out to prep something for, so I decided to go for a dip and crackers combo that I could easily grab between church and lunch.

2 cucumbers diced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups plain Greek yogurt

Throw cucumber, lemon juice and spices into food processor and process to itty bitty pieces.

Drain off excess liquid (if you want a thicker dip) and mix with Greek yogurt. Serve fresh or refrigerate overnight to allow the dip to season.

Note: This makes A LOT of dip, as in several cups worth, so you may wish to 1/2 the recipe.

5 Layer Mexican Dip

I have made this dip many, many times, but this is the first time I ever switched out store bought salsa for fresh tomatoes, onion, corn and peppers. Be warned, those peppers can be a bit spicy (as anyone at the Memorial Day party can attest).

8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces of sour cream
3 medium tomatoes chopped
1/2 onion chopped (approx 3/4 cup)
16 ounces refried beans
1 cob of sweet corn
2 jalapanos
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Roast corn and peppers. I did mine in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Chop tomatoes, onion and peppers. Remove corn from the cob. Mix together and refrigerate overnight. For me the mixture filled a regular (8 ounce) Cool Whip container just about perfectly.

Warm the cream cheese in an 8×8 glass baking dish until it’s spreadable. Mix with sour cream. Smooth flat.

Stir up your refried beans and spread as evenly as possible over the cream cheese/sour cream mixture.

Remove your chopped mixture from the refrigerator and spread evenly over the refried beans. Sprinkle cheese over until covered.

Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until the cheese has browned. Allow to sit until cooled enough to not scald you and serve with tortilla chips.

I usually try to have some sort of serving picture, but I took this dip to a Memorial Day party and this is all I came back with: