Two Quick Dips for Tortilla Chips

Our neighbors have a monthly block party. This time we went to our friends Courtney and Dan's.  I brought the appetizers.  Both of these dips are great because you can serve them both with tortilla chips so you only need one "dipper".  They are also a nice change from your traditional chips and salsa.

Texas Caviar

What You'll Need:
 2 cans black beans
1 can hominy
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed (unless you want the extra kick), diced finely
2 cups Italian dressing

What You Do:

Add all ingredients into a large bowl.  Pour Italian dressing over and let sit for at least an hour before serving.  This really gets better after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days so feel free to make ahead...or enjoy the leftovers yourself!

Spinach Ole

What you'll need:
2 packages of chopped frozen spinach
1 jar salsa (I used hot 'cause I like a little kick)
2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1 block of cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
2 cups monterey jack cheese

What you'll do:

The cream cheese needs to be at room temperature for it to mix together so make sure you have left that out for a while.  Meanwhile, thaw the spinach.  I like to put it in a colander with a large bowl underneath it.  I run hot water over it and squeeze out the excess liquid (and there's a lot of it!).  It looks like this:

In a large bowl, mix the thawed spinach, cream cheese, salsa, red wine vinegar and 1 cup of the cheese.  Mix thoroughly.  Put in a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until warm and bubbly. 

Serve both with tortilla chips.