Hot Cheese Beef Dip

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 5 scallions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temp
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup chopped cashews

• 1 (5 ounce) jar dried beef, chopped (it might come in a bag 4.5 ozs.)
• salt
• pepper
• vegetables, to dip

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. 2

   Saute the onion, bell pepper, scallions, and garlic cloves in the butter in a small frying pan over low heat until the vegetables are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the worcestershire and cream cheese and mix well.

4. 4

   Add the mayonnaise, cheddar, cashews, and dried beef and mix well.

5. 5

   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. 6

   Pour into an attractive baking dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

7. 7

   In the meantime, prepare your dippers: I prefer cold, raw veggies such as celery, cucumber, Belgian endive, and cauliflower, but hot dip works well with crisply-steamed cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, or green beans, too (the hot dip against the cool raw vegetable is a nice contrast). Any veggies you like would probably be fine, but remember that if you're aiming for lower-carb, that vegetables aren't carb-free by any means. After fiber subtraction, about 7-9 carbs per serving.

8. 8

   If you're not lower-carbing, this stuff is just plain good. :) Dip in with whatever you want... pita chips, bread pieces, and so on. So very, very good! A little decadent, party living!