7-Layer Salad Dip

I know this poor blog isn't getting as much attention as it once did, but it will, I promise.  I do plan on getting back to cooking very soon.

In the meantime, here's a recipe I made this weekend for a wine tasting fundraiser my sister-in-law had.  I stumbled onto this recipe from Tasty Kitchen in search of something to make.  It was outstanding.  Really the belle of the ball. 

The only substitution I made was I used Canola oil mayo instead of regular mayo. And truth be told, you could fore go the mayo all together.  The dip was a bit too loose for me, especially for a dip that's supposed to be a mold.  Next time, I'll 86 the mayo and just use cream cheese.

Oh that's another sub I made, I used low-fat cream cheese. I don't really think you can tell the difference in recipes like this.

7-Layer Salad Dip

Courtesy of Tasty Kitchen

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Makes 15 servings

• 6 strips bacon
• 3 whole plum tomatoes, diced (I cleaned out the insides of the tomatoes so it wouldn't be so juicy.)
• 4 whole green onions, sliced
• 16 ounces, weight cream cheese, softened (I used fat free.)
• 1-½ cup frozen peas, thawed (oh crap. I totally didn't add these in. Oops)
• 4 ounces, weight shredded colby-jack cheese
• ¼ c mayonnaise (I used Canola mayo, but would not use this in the next version.)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp coarse black pepper
• 1 loaf whole wheat french bread (I actually used wheat thins instead of bread.)
• olive oil, for brushing on your bread Slices
• garlic powder, to taste, to sprinkle on the bread

Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy then remove it from the pan. When it’s cool, chop bacon. Reserve 3 tablespoons.

Cut up veggies, set aside.

Soften cream cheese by putting it into a bowl and letting it come to room temperature. Then stir in peas, cheese, green onions, mayo, garlic, salt and black pepper.

Line a medium bowl with plastic wrap. Place 3 tablespoons of bacon pieces in the bottom. Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture over the bottom, then top that with 1/2 the tomatoes and 1/2 the remaining bacon. Repeat layers, ending with a final layer of cream cheese. Press the mixture down into the bowl and refrigerate until serving time.

Cut your whole wheat French bread loaf into 1/4-inch slices, brush each slice with olive oil and season with garlic powder. Put the slices on a baking tray. Bake at 350 F for 8 minutes or until toasted.

When ready to serve, invert the bowl onto a platter. Remove plastic and place toasted bread around your amazing dip!