3 Quick, Easy and Delicious Dip Recipes

These easy dip recipes are tried and true and simple. The dips require a few easy to find ingredients and no ingredients that you won't be able to use later if they are left over.

Let's all free ourselves from the ubiquitous onion dip and move on to more creative ideas. Don't follow the crowd, lead it!

All the dips are gluten free and can most certainly be served with gluten free crackers.

Mix them up quickly and watch everyone enjoy!

(Don't knock it 'til you try it!!!)

8 oz cottage cheese

1 Tbs horseradish

1 Tbs chopped parsley (optional)

Mix all ingredients together. Serve chilled with crackers. It goes especially well with Triscuits or similar baked wheat crackers.

Luncheon suggestion: Serve the horseradish cottage cheese with tomato slices and/or green and red pepper slices as a luncheon salad.

Or.........Let Me Digress From the Recipes for a Moment

My parents had a small vegetable garden and they decided to add horseradish as a crop. That summer all their basil and tomatoes had the taste of horseradish.

At the end of the season, and I am not sure how late in the season this was, they decided to dig up the root and make horseradish spread. They had the root on the kitchen counter but knives and cleavers could not cut through it. My father went into the garage and got a hammer and a saw. They carefully cleaned and disinfected the garage tools and set upon trying to saw the root into smaller pieces. The saw didn't make a dent. Finally, they tried smashing the horseradish with a hammer. This worked somewhat.

However, shortly after they made progress, their eyes started to tear. They ran outside for air and came back. They did this until it didn't work anymore. They bagged up half the root in a plastic bag and opened all the windows. They put on the attic fan and left (aka evacuated) the house for over an hour. When they came back, they decided they still couldn't approach the evil root. They bagged the other half up and discarded both pieces.

Probably More of a Spread But.... You Dip If You Like

4 oz Cream Cheese or Neufchatel

1 TBS orange juice

1 TBS honey

1 Teas orange zest

Mix all ingredients together and serve chilled with a plain non-salted crackers or melba toast as this has a delicate flavor; water crackers and Melba toast are excellent. Looks great with a little extra honey drizzled on top and served with orange slices from the leftover orange.

Hints: You can put all the ingredients in a zip lock bag and massage them together. Then cut a 1/2 hole in one corner, squeeze and pipe the dip onto the plate.

Breakfast idea: Serve on toast topped with orange marmalade.

Yes, Tofu -- Honestly, Tastes Like Boursin Cheese

7 oz Firm or Extra Firm Tofu

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 TBS garlic powder

1/2 TBS dill weed

1/2 TBS celery salt

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mach with a fork until it is mixed thoroughly and in small lumps, about the size of cottage cheese. Chill for at least 1 hour. Serve with crackers -- almost kind are good with this

Vegan Version: Use Nayonaise or Veganaise instead of mayonnaise.

Luncheon suggestion (1): Serve on any kind of bread with lettuce and tomato.

Luncheon suggestion (2): Serve as a cold salad with tomato slices and/or green and red pepper strips.

A Few of the Basics

If you have never purchased tofu before, let me give you a few of the preparation and storing basics.

Most tofus are sold in the vegetable aisle of the supermarket. Usually, they come in Silky (like pudding) and Firm and Extra Firm. They come packed in water. In order to use it for our dip recipe above, all you need to do is slit or peel away the top plastic covering and drain all the water off.

Most come in 14 oz cakes and for the above recipe you need to cut the tofu cake in half. Take the unused half and put it in a storage container and cover it with fresh water. Change the water daily and it should keep for about 2 weeks.

Tofu is something a lot of people shy away from. Maybe because of its odd name, odd look or it's just the unknown. Let's see how adventuresome you are.