Pizza Dip

A few weeks ago I hosted a friend's surprise birthday party. Now I am studying for finals. Guess which was more fun? TOTALLY finals, right?

While, sadly, the fun awesome time of the party is past, I would like to share what I made. I made the Italian grilled cheeses, swiss apple grilled cheeses, pigs in a blanket (ALWAYS disappears!! I made 150% of what I thought we'd need and there was still not a single one left), bean dip, chocolate chip cookies, the black forest cake and this pizza dip.

Hot Pizza Dip

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  
• 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups pizza sauce
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
  
• 2 ounces sliced pepperoni, cut into 1/4s

Directions

1. A day or 2 before you want to serve, do steps 1-3. Do step 4 right before serving. Spread pepperoni on a few layers of paper towels on a microwave safe plate. Cover with another paper towel and microwave 30 sec-1min to get the grease out. Pat dry and let cool.
   
2. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, garlic and basil.
3. Spread mixture in the bottom of an 8x8 microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with bell pepper and pepperoni. Cover and refrigerate for a day or 2 until ready to serve (the flavors mesh well during this time).
   
4. Cover, and microwave for 6 minutes. Serve hot with crackers (bread may also be good).