Three Cheese Baked Crab Dip

It's been raining off and on the last few days, a nice respite from all the yard work. The focus now is on the inside of the house. There's been some movement of furniture and quite a bit of elbow grease. All in all, it's beginning to feel like home again.

I made this appetizer for the first time to bring to a friend's house for dinner. The ingredient list had me reconsidering if I was on the right track or not. And as I searched the internet again hours before the party I became a little worried. The preparation started with the cream cheese and sour cream being combined together. I quickly realized that the cream cheese should of been removed an hour or so beforehand to soften. I then brought out the hand mixer to remedy this situation and after creaming the cheese's; added the green onions and spices. The crab was carefully added last. I used 6 ounces of crab from the fish store in town that had big chunks of lovely crustacean and one 6-ounce can that was flaky in texture, so really half n half. The dip was topped with a sprinkling of Old bay seasoning and baked for 35 minutes. I served the dip with sliced bread, but some whole wheat crackers or celery sticks would be great too. In the end the dip turned out as planned and was well received. Next time I will bring a dish that has been prepared once or twice beforehand to avoid a slight case of the jitters.

Recipe has been loosely adapted from Taste of Home.Com.

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened)
1 cups sour cream
8 ounces extra sharp cheese
2 green onions (thinly sliced)
1/8 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
12 ounces crab meat, 1/2 fresh cooked, 1/2 canned
Old Bay or paprika to sprinkle on top

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a small bowl, using a hand mixer beat cream cheese until whipped. Add sour cream and mix well. Add and combine cheddar cheese, green onions, mustard and garlic powder. Add crab and mix lightly, top with Old Bay seasoning.

Place in oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and heated through. Serve with sliced bread, crackers or celery sticks.