Recipe Station

Here's everything you need to make this rich and hearty 7-layer Italian dip.

Ingredients to Gather

16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 package Italian dressing mix
1¼ cup marinara sauce, you can buy some or make your own (see recipe below)
1½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup cooked Italian sausage
10 pepperoni, chopped
1 small can sliced olives, drained
¼ cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
⅛ cup fresh parsley, chopped

For the Marinara Sauce:

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
¼ cup onion, chopped
2 Tablespoon basil
15 ounce can tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions to Follow

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, cream the cream cheese and Italian dressing mix together and spread on the bottom of a 7×10 baking dish. Pour marinara sauce over the top of cream cheese layer. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over sauce. Then sprinkle sausage over cheese. Next, sprinkle chopped pepperoni over sausage. Next, layer olives over pepperoni. Lastly, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over olives.

After this, put the dip in the oven and cook for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, make the marinara sauce. To do this, place the olive oil, garlic, and onion in a medium-sized saucepan and then saute over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until the onion is tender. Finally, add the basil, tomato sauce, salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, and pepper and then simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Done! This is one hearty, flavorful and filling dip! In fact, you may just want to eat it by the spoonful because it's just that good. We serve this at every gathering we host, and our guests always thank us for it!

Article Source: Chef in Training