I may not know much about sports, but I do know a thing or two about throwing a great game day party. It’s really simple, actually – all you need is lots of chilled beverages (including some non-alcoholic options!), a few jumbo-sized bags of chips and pretzels and other munchies, and always always ALWAYS make something with bacon… bonus points if it’s spicy.
The good news is that all you need to do to satisfy the bacon quota is to make this hot cheesy dip, which delivers all the deliciousness of a bacon-wrapped jalapeno popper without the actual hassle of stuffing a jalapeno pepper.
It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, and it’s dead-easy to make. All you need to do is whisk together a few ingredients, and then pop it into the oven a half-hour before the hungry hordes arrive to bake until bubbly and gooey and delicious. And if you’re the type that likes to plan ahead, you can even make it a day or two in advance. Simply spoon the prepared dip into the baking dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. On the day of, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake until bubbly hot.
Now if only football was this easy to understand
Yield: Serves 6 - 8
Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: 25 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped and fried until crisp
- 1 package (250g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 or 2 dashes of hot sauce (or more, to taste)
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
- 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
Cooking Instructions:
-
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly butter a 4-cup oven-safe dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and hot sauce until smooth. Fold in the grated cheese, bacon and jalapenos.
-
Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish, smoothing out into an even layer. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the crumb topping is browned and the dip is hot and bubbly. Serve immediately with lots of tortilla chips for dipping.
Note: For an extra-spicy dip, use 4-5 jalapeno peppers and load up on the hot sauce!