I’m baaaack!

Yes, it actually has been over a month since I last put up a post.  I’m sorry, faithful minions. Between Christmas, New Years, a mini-vacation with my hubby, and, oh yeah, TWO major family medical emergencies, I’ve been a bit, shall we say, distracted. Gobsmacked. Cray-cray.  Insert favorite synonym for OHMYGODI’MLOSINGMYMIND here.

But yay, life is finally getting back to a semblance of normalcy! And since I know you’ve missed me so much, I figured I’d put up a quickie (don’t be a perv) to tide you over until my next mammoth post – Thanksgiving stuffing.  And yes, I do realize that was in November, but in my mind there is never a wrong time to make stuffing.

This recipe is one that I found on Allrecipes.com a long time ago when I was searching for a quick and easy appetizer to make for a holiday dinner.  Since then, I make it for most potlucks, church group meetings, dinner parties, etc.  The recipe makes one large casserole dish, and there’s rarely leftovers (even in small groups).

Vidalia Onion Dip

What You’ll Need

• 2 cups chopped Vidalia onion (about one medium/large onion)
• 1 cup fat free mayonnaise
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• ½ grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

**Optional: Hot sauce to taste

What To Do:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Evenly chop your onion into 1/4 inch cubes. I tend to be impatient and just end up roughly hacking the onion into irregularly shaped pieces, and it still turns out fine.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the onion.  Add the cheese, pepper, and hot sauce (if desired) and mix well (it will be very thick and gloppy).

Transfer the contents of the bowl into an oven-safe casserole dish.  Smooth out with a spoon so that the dip is evenly distributed.  Lightly cover the entire surface with bread crumbs.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the bread crumbs are golden brown and the dip is visibly bubbling. Serve with your favorite crackers or flatbreads for dipping.

I used a grated Parmesan & Romano mixture for the dip in this picture, and I think the additional cheese really brought this to a whole new level.  I think it would be interesting to try using an Italian 4-cheese blend to give it that much more flavor.  I like serving this with the giant Wheat Thins because even after the onions are cooked the dip is chunky and it’s easier to scoop it out with a bigger surface area. The original recipe does not call for bread crumbs, but I like the crunch they give to a dish that would otherwise be fairly mushy.  However, if you want to save the calories, or can’t have the gluten, feel free to omit them. You could also easily adapt this dip by adding some diced scallions, chipotle pepper sauce, etc. Have fun experimenting!