Healthier Cheese Dip

An old family favorite treat was the simple cheese dip made with a package of Velvetta and 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes with green chiles.  Recently, my husband came home from the camp with leftovers of this dip, and I had an idea to try to make this one a little bit healthier to see if it would pass muster with our extended family for the next time we go to the camp.  I didn't expect the result to be so close to the original taste, but you could hardly tell by taste alone that it was different.  Color, on the other hand, was definitely different, and there was a very slight texture difference.  I made a very small batch, so I have increased the ingredients proportionally below for a full batch.   You'll note that the post title is HealthIER, not HealthY, cheese dip. 

Interestingly, the dip made with just the tofu and vegetables had a very good flavor before adding the cheese.   It will definitely be something I experiment with to get a healthier spread or dip when I have the time to do so.   Adding something like nutritional yeast and other flavorings and then the tomatoes and spicy peppers would most likely create a close approximation of the cheese dip. 


Ingredients:

2 large onion
2 large bell pepper
16 oz mushrooms
5 cloves garlic
16 oz tofu
8 oz velvetta
1 can Rotel  (or 1 can diced tomatoes or fresh equivalent plus 1 large chopped jalapeno)


Saute onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic until onions are translucent.  

Remove from heat and add to blender with raw tofu and blend until smooth (add a very small amount of water if needed to blend).

 

 Return to pan, season with pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and heat on medium low for about 5 minutes.

 

 

Add to microwave safe pan with cheese and Rotel (or tomatoes/jalapenos) and microwave until melted.  Stir together and serve.