Pizza Dip

I know this is very out of character as a recipe for me. Something totally indulgent, unhealthy, with little to no nutritional value, but I was going to a party. This party was going to be full of non-adventurous eaters and perhaps vegetable haters (GASP!). So I went into the archives of recipes I had gotten from my parents when I moved out and found this gem.

Probably when I was in middle school this was one of the standard party fare recipes. My parents would make it for their Christmas party; we would bring it to our annual crab feast etc. I think it has to have been ten years since I last tasted this dip though. I have been craving it and I thought, what better way to get chance to taste it again than bring it to someone else's party. So I did.

One girl told me that she liked it especially because "You could put olive on a shoe and I'd eat it", or something similar (it was was late and I can't remember exactly). Another told me it tasted just like her mom's lasagna. Several people asked who made it. It was actually really nice to have people say nice things about my food. Maybe I'll bring it to next year's luncheon at school. Normally I run out of time and throw something together with the healthy food that's in my house and nobody eats is. (I made lovely white bean dip and people wouldn't even try it) I personally like my cooking for the most part so it's always a real blow to my ego. Don't worry though, I won't let last night's comments go to my head.

Normally we used to eat this on garlic melba rounds, but since I didn't think people would know what they were I went with Garlic Parmesan Triscuit Thin Crisps (honestly I forget the exact product). I usually don't like triscuits but these were pretty good. You definitely need a sturdy cracker or a spoon to put the dip onto the cracker (or bread slice, veggie dipper etc.).

Pizza Dip
1 block cream cheese
2 cups tomato sauce
(Italian Seasoning) - add a few tsp to sauce if bland, optional
1 bunch scallions chopped
1 small can sliced olives
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled

1. Spread cream cheese on bottom of 9x13 casserole dish.
2. Layer each subsequent ingredient in order.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.