$0.53 per serving ~ Football Food! Sausage Cheese Dip

Another Sunday, another pot full of dip to enjoy...

Sausage Cheese Dip ~ $0.53 per serving
1 pound ground sausage, any type ($2.80)
1 2 pound loaf processed cheese, cubes ($3.80)
1 cup sour cream ($1.00)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained ($1.00)

1. Brown sausage evenly. Drain and set aside.
2. Melt cubed processed cheese over medium heat, stirring often.
3. Add browned sausage, sour cream, and diced tomatoes. Mix until well blended. Transfer to crock pot to keep warm.
4. Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or corn chips.
Makes 64 servings!!!!

The Verdict
We'll also have veggies and hummus so we're not eating nothing but garbage all day. This is some seriously tasty garbage, though! I use turkey sausage, lite sour cream, and the low-fat Velveeta just to take the edge off of how bad it is. I make no bones about the fact that this is BAD for you. That may be why we only have it once in a blue moon...

FREE - Leftovers tonight, and homemade pita chips!

I have to be honest, I had planned a nice creamy wild rice soup for tonight... but then I looked in the fridge. I can't cook! We still have Pasta e Fagioli, Indian Lentil Soup, and Tuna Mac n'Cheese! Plus we're having a Halloween pot luck tomorrow, so we'll have MORE leftovers... at least it's a cheap weekend after dinner out last night! I think I'll throw some bread in the bread maker.

Here's something to add to the healthy snacks list:

Homemade Pita Chips
1 package whole wheat pitas (I buy them day-old at my bakery, it's usually $1.00 a package!)
Spices of your choice
Olive Oil in a spray atomizer

Cut pita into small pieces and spread out on baking tray. Spritz with oil, then sprinkle with spices. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until browned. Use with the healthy dips I posted earlier! Some favorite spice combinations - garlic and grated cheese, oregano and a pinch of cayenne pepper, chinese five spice, sea salt and cracked black pepper, or even cinnamon sugar!

Healthy and Cheap Snacks

These are hard to break down for servings, so I'll just give a cost for the entire recipe.

Hummus, Josh-style ~ $1.75
2 tbsp. minced fresh garlic
2 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed ($1.00)
1 packet ranch dressing mix ($0.75)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch salt

Puree all ingredients together in blender or food processor. Chill in refrigerator at least 1 hour. Serve with pita and/or cut veggies.

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip ~ $1.50
1 cup peanut butter ($1.25)
1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt ($0.25)

Warm peanut butter gently in microwave for 10-20 seconds, just until slightly softened. Stir in yogurt until completely blended. Serve with cut veggies or fruits.


Better than French Onion Dip ~ $1.50
1/2 cup plain unsweetened yogurt ($0.50)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese ($0.50)
1 packet French Onion Soup Mix ($0.50)

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Dip veggies or chips!

Guiltless Bacon Cheese Munchies ~ $2.93
1 small celery heart, cut into 2 inch pieces ($1.50)
Lite cheddar cheese spread ($2.75 per tub, use about 1/4 of it for a cost of $0.68)
Bac-Os Bacon Chips ($3.00 per package, use about 1/4 of it for a cost of $0.75)

Warm cheese in microwave about 20 seconds. Spread cheese into hollow of celery, sprinkle with bacon bits. YUM! The Bac-Os bits are actually soy, but they taste so good!

Notes
Each of these recipes makes more than enough for 2 adults and a toddler, so the cost spreads out over a few different snack times!

$0.93 per serving ~ Football Food! Buffalo Chicken Dip

We are football fanatics in this house... we love the NY Giants but if there's pro football on, we're watching it no matter who is playing! So Sundays tend to be "junk food days" where we eat munchies instead of real meals. Not a bad thing, though... We may be visiting friends, or having friends visit, in which case I'll double the recipe..

Breakfast ~ $0.95 per person
Bagels with peanut butter
Sliced apples and grapes

All Day Munchies!
Chips and Salsa
Celery and carrots with peanut butter/yogurt dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip ~ $0.93 per serving
2 10 oz. cans of chunk chicken, drained ($4.00)
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened ($2.00)
1 cup Ranch dressing ($1.00)
1 cup hot sauce ($0.75)
1 cup cheddar cheese ($1.50)

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers. Makes 10 1/2 cup servings.

The Verdict
This is my husband's favorite munchie food. And I actually will eat the leftovers on a roll, cold, as a weird buffalo chicken sandwich. I'll have to make Josh something different for dinner, but that will probably be a PB&J or grilled cheese sandwich. I love football season! :)