I love all things Oktoberfest! My birthday is in the beginning of October and so is Melanie’s. We usually try to kick off the October celebrations together by going to a local Oktoberfest…beer, sausage, and great company!  I was inspired by Melanie’s German Sausage and Barley Soup (Graupensuppe) and the Oktoberfest’s we ad been visiting, that I came up with this recipe. It has sausage, beer, and cheese-what’s not to like? And this would make a great party snack! It’s a cheat meal, but oh-so-worth-it!  Enjoy!

 -Tammy

Health tips: cheat meal

Beer Cheese Dip (Makes 4-6 servings)

14-16 oz. package of sausage (use your favorite-I used turkey keilbasa)
8 oz. cream cheese (you can use 1/3 fat cream cheese)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded                                                                                                      1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or grated                                                                                            1/2 cup of beer (I used Miller Lite because I had that on hand)                                                         1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce                                                                                                                       2 tsp grainy mustard                                                                                                                           Cooking spray                                                                                                                                       Dippers of your choice-I  used tortilla chips and pretzel bread, sliced

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You’re only going to use about 10 oz. of the sausage. Take 5 oz. and chop into a small dice (the other half you will mix in the food processor). Chop the other 5 oz.  into small chunks.

2. In a food processor,  combine 1 cup of the sharp cheddar cheese, cream cheese,  beer, garlic, Worcestershire, and mustard. Mix until well combined (for a few minutes). Then throw in the chunks of sausage and pulse a few times until the sausage is mixed in, but smaller chunks (not pulverized).

3. Put the mixture into a bowl and stir in the other cup of cheddar and diced sausage. Scoop this mixture into a small casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

4. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Then turn on broiler and brown the top (stay by the broiler and check every few seconds so that it doesn’t burn).  Serve with chips and sliced pretzel bread. Veggies, pretzels, or soft pretzels would also go great! ENJOY!