Easy Entertaining: Veggies and Dip {giveaway}

My partnership with Gay Lea means that I get to experiment in the kitchen, try their products (which frankly, are already in my kitchen) and share with you some great finds.  I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, their Gold Premium Sour Cream is the ONLY sour cream to buy.  It’s thick, the ingredients are simple and very tasty.

Now, as we enter BBQ season, and a time when we tend to entertain outdoors a lot (and often on a whim – how many get-togethers just kind of happen at this time of year?) it’s nice to have recipes and go-to snacks that are easy.  While I may share some fancy recipes here once and a while, I am a huge fan of easy, simple and delicious.

Take, for example, veggies and dip.  The basic tray of veggies and dip is a multi-tasker. Not only does it count as a side dish, but it gets our serving of vegetables in us.  Plus, left over veggie trays mean chopped vegetables can be added to the next day’s salad, steamed to go along with dinner, or BBQed.

We always have a dip, or the components of a dip, ready to go in the fridge.  Sometimes, after a hot day, we can just snack on fruit and vegetables and call it a meal.

Here are three ways to make quick dip to go with your vegetables if you haven’t bought one.  The first thing to do though is keep Gay Lea Gold Premium Sour Cream in the fridge – you’ll get plenty of use out of it not only for dips, but other recipes too!

1) Mix 1 part sour cream with one part of your favourite creamy salad dressing – ranch, caesar etc. The dip is ready to go!

2) Buy a mix (there are some fantastic organic dry mixes) to keep in your cupboard. Either mix up a bit at a time, or use the entire sour cream container, add the mix, and keep it stored in the container in the fridge.  It will last a while!

3) Combine your own ingredients like dried onion powder, garlic powder, chopped chives, pepper and oregano to make your own tasty creation!

Serve your veggies and dip on a tray, or make individual cups (using short glasses or tea cups) by placing a bit of dip in the bottom of the cup and long veggies right in it!

Have fun this summer with simple, fresh ingredients!

 ENTER TO WIN

I have 12 more Gay Lea product coupons for one lucky reader! Enter to win by commenting below and tell me what your favourite dip with veggies is!

One lucky winner will be drawn at random and Mom Central will mail them 12 Gay Lea coupons (note: Expiry is October 2014).

Good luck!

*Giveaway is open to Canadian residents, excluding Quebec. Draw will take place on June 25, 12 pm EST.  If the winner has already won on another Gay Lea Ambassador blog this month, another name will be drawn.

Disclosure: I am part of the Gay Lea Ambassador Program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks and compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.