One of my assignments from Allrecipes.com for the Ritz promotion was to make one of the NYC restaurant created recipes for RITZ Crackers. The recipe assigned to me was RITZ White Pizza Meatball Dip by Lombardi's Pizza. I decided to try it out over the weekend and therefore, Grumpy and I had appetizers for dinner 🙂 Sometimes I love having a dinner consisting of small bites except for the fact that I sometimes don't realize how much I am eating!
When making this dip, I decided that I wanted to add a little something extra to the mix to try and boost the flavor even more. I did this by adding freshly pressed garlic cloves and instead of using dried oregano, I used fresh. I also opted for less fat cream cheese part skim mozzarella instead of the whole fat versions. Loved it! Unfortunately, for me, the meatball addition wasn't one I was crazy about. I loved everything about the dip except for the meatballs - but then again, I am not a large lover of meat and certain things I just prefer without it. That isn't the case for Grumpy. Its not a meal unless there is meat on the menu!
If your a huge fan of trying out new recipes for your game day table, then I would definitely recommend this recipe. I loved the flavor of the dip itself even before it was baked!
RITZ White Pizza Meatball Dip
adapted slightly from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1-8 oz package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons freshly grated asiago cheese
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (plus about ¼ cup more for topping dip before baking)
8 ounces pre-cooked meatballs, diced
3 plum tomatoes, diced
3 black olives, diced
3 green olives, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, asiago cheese and fresh oregano.
Stir in mozzarella cheese, meatballs, tomatoes, olives, and garlic.
Spoon into 1-½ quart baking dish and top with ¼ cup mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with more fresh oregano if desired. Serve with RITZ Crackers for dipping.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 28 servings
anyonita green
Shelby, I remember when I first saw this post, I was completely blown away! I still haven't found time to make it yet, but it's going on the top of my list! This is such a delicious sounding appetizer, but I think I might have the trouble you did: I never realize how much I've eaten when I nibble on appetizers! So dangerous! 🙂
Michele @ Flavor Mosaic
This dip looks delicious! Thanks for posting.
Sinea Pies
OK Shelby....I followed this post around-the-world to get to you! LOL Started on Twitter, lead me to FB where I liked your page, and directed me here (yes, I will be pinning it !!!) Can you stop by my blog hop today to share this? I took a lot of trouble to find it, you know. Ha ha ha! It sounds sooooo good it was worth the effort.
Blessings,
Sinea
Ducks ‘n a Row