After a few hours of lounging around in my pajamas and fuzzy socks, digesting brunch and catching up on my social media, I inevitably become bored. Not being one who likes to squander a gorgeous fall weekend, I start planning a real “party” . . .but one with very little work!
This time of year, if we’re not tailgating at a live game, we’ll typically have family and friends over to watch college football or even get moving ourselves with a little touch football competition in the backyard. Of course, food is in order to fuel all this fun, but I hate being stuck in the kitchen playing chef. I see nothing wrong making the get-together potluck and asking guest to each bring a favorite dish to share. Of course, I’m sharing too – and most recently it was this delicious and easy blender recipe for Baked Butternut Ricotta Dip.
Comforting and ooey-gooey, this warm dish reminds of spinach artichoke dip but with a seasonal veggie spin – butternut squash. This veggie is one of the quintessential flavors of fall and can be seasoned to be sweet or savory. I’ve gone the savory route and used Litehouse Homestyle Ranch Dressing to easily add that creamy texture and fresh herb taste America loves.
For convenience, this appetizer recipe uses frozen cubed butternut squash, so don’t worry about wrangling and chopping up a whole, huge one. Nobody I know has time for that. Thawed, cubed butternut is pureed with Ranch dressing and ricotta cheese right in the blender. Then grated mozzarella and spinach are stirred in before baking to bubbling, browned goodness. How easy is that?!
I top with roasted pine nuts and chopped sundried tomatoes before serving with a sliced baguette. Of course, crackers and vegetable sticks always make good dippers. In the rare event I have leftovers, the Hot Ranch Butternut Ricotta Dip used as the filling for the most epic grilled sandwich.