Onion and chive cream cheese mix

Aside from pizza and toasted French bread with butter, bagels with cream cheese are my greatest carb-tastic addiction. I love making all sorts of flavored cream cheeses, especially...

Onion and chive cream cheese mix

2 teaspoons dried chives
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt



What else you'll need

1 package of plain cream cheese

Combine mix with cream cheese and stir well. Let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes or more (if you can wait!!!) to let flavors mix.



Enjoy on bagels, crackers or chips!

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Cheese Seasoning Mix

Well I survived the week and am almost better, although my house was completely trashed in the meantime and we have almost no food left here. I can finally buy groceries today!

One thing we did have here was plain cream cheese, due to a massive sale on plain cream cheese a while back. We also have dried sweet red peppers- those were also on sale, and I dried some in my oven when I didn't have enough time to use them all fresh. They were perfect to use in...

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Cheese Seasoning Mix

1 tablespoon dehydrated red peppers
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt



Combine mix with 250 grams (8 oz) of plain cream cheese (I regular sized package) and let sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.



I like my cream cheese on toasted bagels... this one didn't last very long at all!

Copycat Epicure Cheese Dip Mix

I have both attended and hosted an Epicure party, and both times the sales person served their extraordinary baked cheese dip to everyone. That stuff is like crack and it's all part of their plan- because to make it yourself you have to buy not one but THREE overpriced jars of seasoning. That ends up coming to around $30 just for seasonings alone (then you have to buy all the cheeses too!).

I was determined to crack their cheese dip, so what I did is individually conquer each of the three dip mixes it's made of, and then combine them. Here it is...

Copycat Epicure cheese dip mix (single use)

1 1/4 teaspoons chives
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon bacon bits
3/4 teaspoon parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
1/2 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch thyme



What else you'll need

1 package of cream cheese (8 oz)
1 cup mayo, yogurt or sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Combine mix with wet ingredients in a small covered casserole dish.



Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes. I stirred mine halfway through so the spices would mix once the cheese had begun to melt.



Serve hot with veggies, sliced baguette or corn chips. Or in my case all 3...



Don't worry about leftovers. There won't be any. I just saved you $30, as well as from a pushy salesperson trying to get you to host a party. You're welcome :)

Chocolate cream cheese mix

When I heard recently that they came up with a chocolate flavored cream cheese that tasted just like chocolate cheesecake without the crust I thought 'count me in!' But when cream cheese went on sale for $1.99 a tub and the chocolate kind remained priced at $4.50 for a tiny tub I thought 'I can buy some plain and mix it up...'

Chocolate cream cheese mix (single use)

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
pinch salt



Big Batch (makes 4 uses)

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

What else you'll need

I small package or tub of cream cheese (250 grams)

Combine 3 tablespoons of mix with cream cheese and stir well. The flavors will mix well if you let it sit in the fridge for a while, but you can also eat it right away.





I had mine on a toasted bagel but it's also really good on rice cakes and crackers or as a no bake cheesecake filling or right out of the bowl with a spoon.

Rosa Maria bread dipping oil mix

My grandma once gave me a container with 4 kinds of bread dipping mix. I wanted to replicate the one I liked best, so I searched online for the product came up with this:

Rosa Maria bread dipping oil mix (single use)

1 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon parsley
pinch pepper

Big Batch (makes 8 uses)

2 1/2 tablespoons garlic flakes
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons rosemary
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon pepper



Combine 2 teaspoons of mix with 1/4 cup olive oil and stir.



Enjoy with bread! Leftover dipping oil can be used to season chicken, fish or potatoes.

Bacon chives and cheese dip mix

My husband goes back to work on Monday after 8 1/2 months paternity leave (I know, I've been spoiled!) and I've been loading up on groceries to pack in his lunches. I like to send him with a lot of healthy food, because I know he's more likely to eat vegetables when he's a captive of his cubicle with only what's in his lunch box to choose from. Lunches are perfect for dip mixes, because you can make individual servings. This one is one of his favorites:

Bacon Chives and Cheese Dip Mix (single use)

1 1/2 teaspoons bacon bits
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon chives
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion flakes

Big Batch (makes 4 uses)

2 tablespoons bacon bits
4 teaspoons onion powder
4 teaspoons parmesan cheese
3 teaspoons chives
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion flakes



I would store the big batch in the fridge because of the parmesan.

What else you'll need

1 cup of mayo, sour cream or yogurt (or any combination of the two)

Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons mix with wet ingredient and stir well. Let it chill for at least 30 minutes prior to serving to infuse the flavors.



Serve with veggies or as a baked potato topper. To make an individual 'dip cup' for lunches, use 1 teaspoon of mix with 1/4 cup of wet ingredient in a small container. This way you can have fresh dip every day without it going bad by the end of the week (or have a different dip every day using a different dip mix). A dip will only last 3 days in the fridge, but an opened container of mayo/sour cream/yogurt will lasts weeks.

Double Onion Dip Mix

My 2 year blog anniversary was on Sunday and I completely forgot about it because I was home alone with both kids and things were hectic. But the past two years have been so much fun, and with hundreds more mixes brewing in my brain I know I have many years left. So happy birthday Mix It Up!

My daughter really likes carrot sticks lately, and my husband will tolerate them if they are smothered in dip. So these days I've been experimenting with lots of different dip mixes. Like...

Double Onion Dip Mix

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried chives
3/4 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon thyme

Big Batch (makes 4 uses)

4 teaspoons dried onion flakes
4 teaspoons dried chives
3 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme

What else you'll need

1 cup sour cream, mayo or yogurt (or a combination of them equal to one cup)

Combine 4 teaspoons of mix with your choice sour cream/mayo/yogurt and stir well. Let the dip sit covered in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving for full taste to emerge.

Delicious and healthy too!

Baba Ghanoush Seasoning Mix

I love Lebanese food! We have a little take out place on the corner that I go to way more often than I should. I think my second daughter was made up entirely of their food as I craved it all the time when I was pregnant with her. I get it whenever I want a fast food fix but don't want to eat garbage, but it gets pretty expensive so I learned how to make shawarma and falafel at home, and then recently I came up with this as well...

Baba Ghanoush Seasoning Mix

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
pinch cumin
pinch cayenne

What else you'll need

1 eggplant
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice

For garnish

Olive oil
More dried parsley flakes

Roast the eggplant in the oven until tender and then scoop out the cooked insides into a bowl and pour seasonings on top.

Add tahini and lemon and blend mixture until smooth. Drizzle with olive oil and spinkle some parsley flakes on top for garnish. Serve as a dip with veggies or pita or use as a spread for shawarma, falafel or other sandwiches.

Lemon Dill Dip Mix

A month of celebration and gluttony is coming to a close and most people are vowing that in two days, they will start to eat better. That includes lots of raw, fresh vegetables and the best way to get them down is with a really good dip...

Lemon Dill Dip Mix (single use)

1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt

Big batch (makes 4 uses)

4 teaspoons dill weed
2 teaspoons dill seed
2 teaspoons garlic flakes
2 teaspoons dried lemon peel
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon salt

What else you'll need

1 cup of sour cream, mayo or yogurt (full fat, low fat or fat free depending on how many calories you want)

Combine 1 tablespoon of mix with sour cream/yogurt/mayo and stir well. Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for best results.

I used this dip with the appetizers on Christmas Eve dinner and it was so good that people raved about it even among the other gluttonous foods. The easiest way to eat right is to eat healthy foods that taste good. Have a happy new year everyone!

Pesto Bread Dipping Oil Mix

I'm starving these days from nursing a very hungry baby and I'm craving lots of BREAD BREAD BREAD! The other day I bought a great big baguette and tried out another bread dipping oil to go with it.

Pesto Bread Dipping Oil Mix

1 tablespoon parmeasan
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/8 teaspoon oregano

You may notice some salt and pepper in the picture. I omitted them from the final recipe as they didn't taste right.

What else you'll need

1/4 cup olive oil
bread for dipping

Combine mix with oil and serve.

The leftovers also make a great base to stir fry pasta or veggies in. Bread oils make a great appetizer for parties. Or snack for someone wanting to eat a whole loaf of bread in one sitting...