Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love chips and dip. And this Red Lentil and Pepper Dip is no exception. I wanted to make a healthy dip with ingredients I already had on hand (hate to interrupt my day with grocery shopping!) and discovered this divine simple recipe for a dip I know you’ll love.

Cuisinart DLC-4CHB Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel

What you’ll need:
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup red lentil, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper, to taste

What to do:
1. In a skillet, soften  the bell peppers and garlic in oil. Add the salt and pepper and then the chicken stock, lentils and lemon juice. Bring to boil. Cover and let simmer about 15 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

2. Transfer the lentil mixture to your favorite food processor and reduce it to a creamy puree. Adjust the seasoning to your liking (I’m a salt freak, so I tend to use a little more salt). Let it cool then cover and refrigerate until cold.

3. Serve as a dip with baked pita chips, blue corn chips, veggies, or as a garnish for sandwiches. This recipe for Red Lentil and Pepper Dip makes about 1 3/4 cups.

How easy is that?

Print out the recipe for Red Lentil and Pepper Dip here.

* Photo courtesy of the Exit Music blog.

Try it with some lemon-thyme pita chips or baked tortilla chips and you’ll have a wonderful easy appetizer that whomever you serve it to will love.

What you need:
- 1 can (15 to 19 ounces) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1  jalapeño chile , seeded
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped sweet onion
- Salt
- 1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
- 2 plum tomatoes
- Baked tortilla chips or fresh-cut vegetables

What to do:
In food processor or blender, puree beans and 1 tablespoon of the lime juice until you reach a smooth consistency. Transfer  the beans to medium bowl.

In same processor, place the jalapeño, cilantro, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; pulse until juicy and  nice and thick.

Scoop out the avocado from its peel into the bowl with the bean mixture; mash with a fork until the mixture is blended and still somewhat chunky.

Cut each tomato crosswise in half and squeeze the halves to remove seeds and juice. Coarsely chop up the tomatoes and add the onions. Stir the tomato-and-onion mixture into avocado/bean mixture until blended. If you like a little more zip to your guacamole, stir in additional lime juice to taste and/or add a drop of hot pepper sauce.

Guacamole is best served as soon as it’s made, but you can also cover and refrigerate up to 1 hour. Serve with baked tortilla chips or vegetables.

Nutritional information is for 1/4 cup.
Calories 65
Total Fat 3g
Sodium 155mg
Total Carbohydrate 8g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Protein 2g

*Photo courtesy of Good Housekeeping

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I happen to LOVE chips and dips. Just ask any of my friends. Yes, it’s one of my downfalls in life, and particularly hard to ignore while I’m trying to lose a few lbs. But… sometimes, just talking about food does the opposite (for me anyway) than it does for most folks. I get less hungry. Hmmm… maybe this is a new diet technique????

Anyway, one of my favorite dips in the world is plain ol’ onion dip – straight from a Lipton’s-like dip mix and sour cream. No fuss, no muss, right? It reminds me of my childhood and scooping up the deliciousness of it with ruffled potato chips.

So, I decided a wanted a little more grown up version of onion dip. Here’s a wonderful way to get that same yummy flavor, but made for the grownup taste buds. This recipe doesn’t use only sour cream, but adds in some Greek Yogurt which cuts down on the fat content.

This recipe for Caramelized Onion Dip is not as quick as ripping open a packet of onion dip mix, because of the time involved in caramelizing the onions, but it’s well worth the effort and whomever you serve it to will be begging you for the recipe. Check it out!

Pfaltzgraff Dip Mix Set. Set includes dip bowl and spreader

What you’ll need:
- 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), finely chopped
- 3/4 Cup sour cream (low-fat works, too)
- 3/4 Cup Greek yogurt (low-fat works, too)
- 3 Teaspoons dehydrated onion powder/granulates (salt-free, natural)*
- very scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

What to do:
In a heavy skillet, saute the chopped onions over medium heat with the olive oil and a couple of pinches of salt. Stir occasionally with a wood or metal spatula and cook until the onions are deeply golden, brown, and caramelized – takes about 40-50 minutes. Set aside and let the yummy, onions cool.

While the onions are doing their thing, you can whisk together the sour cream, yogurt, onion powder, and salt. Something to keep in mind… add whatever onion powder you are using to taste. Add a little bit at a time until it tastes exactly how you like it. Set the mixture aside and wait until the caramelized onions have cooled to room temperature.

Finally, stir in 2/3 of the caramelized onions and scoop into a pretty bowl. Then, top with the remaining onions. Serving at room temperature is good, so if you have to make it ahead of time, pull it out of your refrigerator in time to get to room temp.

Enjoy with your favorite chips. If you are really ambitious, go ahead and check out my selection of homemade chip recipes below.

* If you find it difficult to get onion powder (not the same as onion salt), use crushed dehydrated onion flakes instead. Just add to this recipe to taste.

Homemade Chips
Homemade Potato Chips
Easy Potato Chips
Eggplant Chips

Thanks to 101.cookbooks for the photo

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Photo courtesy of the Peace Cooking blog

My favorite thing to do these days, is browse through recipes, find great recipe sites and sample tasty-sounding tidbits. There is such a wealth of information out there in Internet-ville and so many good ideas that make my mouth water. This recipe is no exception. Here’s a shout out to the PeaceCooking blog – tips for delicious and healthy cooking for posting this recipe. And now, get ready for some spicy goodness…

What you’ll need:
- 1 Mango peeled and pit removed diced
- 1 Cayenne pepper freshly cracked
- 2 tablespoons of tomato juice
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 Garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of Coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoons of Honey or to taste
- Salt according to taste

What to do:
Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend well.

If you want this dip to be sweeter, just add more honey. To turn up the heat, you can add an additional pepper. And finally, to adjust the sour taste you simply add a tablespoon of vinegar. Depends on your tastebuds!

This is a delicious dip -  enjoy it with crispy fried prawn or chicken or just serve it with chips or crackers. DEEEElish!

For more fantastic dips, don’t forget to visit my chip dip recipes page at Easy Appetizer Recipes.

I love chips and dip and all kinds of appetizers. I make meals out of them! I would prefer to eat finger foods over any other kind of meal. And I try not to snack to much. I know, how crazy is that?

Anyway, I may convert you to a snack-aholic with these incredible homemade chips that are super simple to make and you’ll never want to go back to the bagged kind again. Trust me, you’ll love them!

To get this yummy recipe for the beloved finger food and read the rest of the article, visit my Homemade Pototo Chips page.