{Recipe} Easy Snacks for Father's Day

My challenge? Create some easy and fun snack ideas for Father’s Day as part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias®. If there’s one thing dad doesn’t want for father’s day it’s a veggie tray and tofu treats. (OK, I’m sure some dads might…but we’re talking most dads, here.) Father’s Day is a great time to try some easy and delicious treats. There might even be a veggie or two snuck in there.

An easy and fun way to jazz up your Pepsi? Grenadine and cherry ice cubes! The sugar content of grenadine keeps it from freezing so you’ll want to water down your grenadine with at least a 1:1 ratio of grenadine to water. Then fill up your ice cube trays with the grenadine/water mix and add a cherry to each. As the cubes melt they’ll give a flavorful kick to your drink. (It’s especially good in Mtn Dew-that’s my favorite!)

Who doesn’t love a warm spinach artichoke dip? This recipe is easy and has a great kick!

1 package cream cheese

1/2 box frozen spinach, thawed and well drained

1 can artichokes, quartered and drained

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

red pepper flakes (to taste)

All you need to do is combine everything in your mixer and mix! (You can also do this in a mixing bowl by hand if no mixer is available.) Pour everything into a casserole dish, sprinkle lightly on top with more mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with your favorite variety of Tostitos chips. I choose restaurant style, but Tostitos Scoops also make a tasty and effective dip delivery system. (If you can stand the heat then stay out of the kitchen just leave out the red pepper flakes. It’s totally yummers without them, it’s just more yummers with them!)

Dad’s gotta have a special dessert right? And what’s more special than chocolate and caramel covered Ruffles? (Seriously, I’m asking…what could be more special than that?) Now I know there’s someone out there skeptical that this could be good, but trust me. It’s amazing. It’s, “where have you been all my life” amazing. And it’s easy! Start with a bag of caramels. Unwrap them and place in a microwave safe dish with a splash of water or milk. Microwave for a minute, stir, repeat until nice and melty. Dip in your chips about halfway and place on parchment paper or a Silpat mat to cool. (I actually popped mine in the freezer for a few minutes.) Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at half power for a minute, stir and repeat until the chocolate is nice and melty, too. Then dip the chips caramel side into the chocolate. Place again on the parchment or Silpat to cool. If you wanna get fancy you can do a white chocolate drizzle. (But that’s totally optional.) Believe me…chocolate and caramel covered Ruffles are about to become your new most favorite thing ever.

Follow along with my shopping trip for my Father’s Day snacks in my Google + album!