Copycat Olive Garden Oven Baked Cheese Fonduta

Have you ever had this appetizer at Olive Garden? It is A.MAZ.ING. The most delicious blend of cheeses melted together, topped with fresh tomatoes and parsley, and then served with crispy crostini bread. Dee and I always indulge in this appetizer when we go there and I recently introduced my hubby to it one night when we were out to dinner and he was hooked! Truly scrumptious.

Well, today we decided we needed to recreate this ooey gooey deliciousness at home but I wasn't about to go out shopping for cheeses when I keep so many in my refrigerator, so we used what we had and seasoned it all up with our favorite Italian seasonings. All I can say is wow... what we ended up with was an appetizer that I will be making for years to come. This is a show stopper.

1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 chopped tomato & chopped fresh parsley for garnish
1 loaf of your favorite crusty bread

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a glass pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Throw the cheeses, sour cream, Italian seasoning, dried parsley and red pepper flakes in a bowl and mix together until well combined. Spread in the prepared pie pan and bake 15 minutes. It should be bubbly and starting to lightly brown on top. As soon as it comes out of the oven, garnish with a pile of fresh tomato in the middle, (I like campari best), and sprinkle chopped fresh parsley all over the top. Serve immediately, piping hot, with your favorite crusty bread! (I pop the bread in the oven for the last few minute of cooking so it's crispy and warm.)

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