Hill Country Pecan Spread

I had this at a get together when we were living in Houston, Texas. I took one bite and HAD to track down the person who made it. She shared the recipe with me, which I quickly scribbled down. It came from a little spiral bound community cookbook she had…I have no idea who the author was. But I can tell you that this dip is IN.CRED.I.BLE. It has SO much flavor. It’s great on crackers or veggies. You can also serve it on baked potatoes. The jalapenos give it a little zip, but not too much. Just try it. There’s no way I can do it justice…you have to taste it.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp milk
2 oz. dried beef, chopped (come in a jar by the canned meats…picture at bottom of post)
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp minced onion
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/4 tsp pepper
1-2 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Use electric mixer to blend everything except butter and pecans. Pour into 1-quart baking dish.

Melt butter over medium heat. Saute pecans in butter until light brown. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes.

Serves 8 to 10

THIS IS THE DRIED BEEF