Beth's Hot Pizza Dip

This post begins one of the most ridiculous series of blog entries I've made so far. Saturday night, we crammed almost 40 people into our little apartment for my husband's 30th birthday feast. He made amazing ribs (he will ghost-write a blog entry later today). All I know is that they involved margarita mix. I worried about not having enough food. Silly. As ridiculous as our food options were (sushi, ribs, toffee, homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, chocolate dipped strawberries, bruschetta), our friends brought dishes that tipped the scales from delicious to magical.

For example, my friend Beth's pizza dip.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• Scant ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Scant ½ teaspoon dried parsley
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese and/or pizza cheese blend
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 ounces pepperoni sausage(or kielbasa), chopped
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish.
2. Sprinkle all of the Parmesan cheese and ¾ cup of the mozzarella cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture.
3. Spread the pizza sauce over all.
4. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with green pepper, pepperoni and olive slices.
5. Cover, and microwave for 5 minutes, or bake, uncovered, at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Recommendation: serve with Tostitos Scoops chips