Mississippi Sin Dip

Big/Little Sis Collage that my wonderful Little Sis, Jennifer, made!

When I applied to UT, my college counselor was not exactly enthusiastic.  “You should have a back up school, just in case,” he said.  “UT has become impossible to get into these days, especially for schools like ours that doesn’t rank and doesn’t have a top 10%.”  In 2004, at Texas public high schools, the top 10% of the grade was automatically admitted to Texas public universities.  As much as I appreciated my counselor’s advice and (lack of) support, I was bound and determined to go to Texas, and I was going to do whatever I could to get that acceptance letter.  I applied to Texas Tech, TCU, Trinity University, Southwestern University, Midwestern State, CU Boulder, OU (oops), and UT. 

My Big Sis, Amber, and me with Roger Creager at Anchor Bash 2008 at Hard Rock Cafe

I had seven acceptance letters, but it was the eighth letter for which I sped home every day at 3:15.  Finally, the day came when the last acceptances were being announced.  My best friend, Whitney, and I walked into the math classroom with computers, and we held our breath as we checked our admission statuses.  Whitney closed her eyes, and she told me to read what A&M University was telling her.  “You got in!”  I screamed.  Then it was my turn.  I logged onto my Be A Longhorn account, and I prepared myself for the worst.  “Congratulations!” was the first word I read.  I was admitted to UT as a “Summer Admission,” meaning I had to take nine hours of class during summer of 2004 before beginning regular classes in August.  I didn’t care though, I was going to be a Longhorn, and my best friend was going to be an Aggie.

Jennfier and me at her Bid Day in 2005

Starting about February of my senior year of high school, all of my girlfriend started talking about rush ("recruitment").  Most of my friends' moms put together color coordinated packets, complete with beautiful professional pictures, meticulous resumes, and their entire family history of sorority and fraternity membership.  My best friend, Whitney, and I stared, bug-eyed.  Neither of our moms had been in a sorority, and we had no clue where to start. 

Jennifer and me in our matching outfits for Big/Little Revealing at a haunted house

We asked our friends, and ideally we were to have “one formal recommendation and two letters of support for each sorority at our respective universities.  UT had 14 Panhellenic (nationally recognized) sororities.  This meant I needed to find 42 women who I knew and who also happened to be in one of each of the sororities.  One of the great things (but sometimes not so great things) about Fort Worth is that it is a tiny big town.  A lot of Fort Worth knows each other (and each others’ business), so I had women calling me left and right, volunteering to write my “rec” for XYZ sorority.  Whitney and I drove around all day for three days straight, delivering our packets to women’s homes so they could write our recs.  (Most of our friends’ moms were doing this delivery for them, but our full-time-working-non-sorority moms had no idea where to start, so it was up to us). 

Me, my Grand Little (Ashlea), Great Grand Little (Nicole), Great Great Grand Little (Jackie)
and twin Great Great Great Grand Littles (Anne and Michelle) at DG Bid Day at UT in 2010

I spent summer of 2004 having a blast in Austin, meeting a ton of sorority girls, , and worrying about rush.  I decided that I would keep an open mind, despite many of my girlfriends’ preconceived ideas of each sorority.   The first day I walked into the Delta Gamma house, I knew I wanted to “Be a DG, too.”  It was the first house I didn’t feel like I had to put on a fake smile or force conversation.  My smile was legitimate, and my conversation was genuine.  On preference night, my feet were aching from my heels, and the girl with who I was matched told me “Take your shoes off, it’s totally fine.”  What?  No way.  Somewhere I can be myself, relax, and be comfortable?  Surely that didn’t describe a sorority, but it did.  On bid day, I opened my bid card and found I was invited to be a Delta Gamma. 

My Grand Little/Cousin, Ashlea, me, and my Little, Jennifer at my 3rd Annual Holiday Cocktail Party

I am now an advisor to the TCU Gamma Tau Delta Gamma chapter.  My little sis from DG, Jennifer, and I are the Co-Advisors for the New Member Program.  We had a meet and greet for the alumnae to meet the baby DGs, and I made Mississippi Sin Dip.  It’s not truly “sinful” since I made it with fat-free ingredients, but it was addicting.  It was fun watching all of the new members mingling and making friends, just like I did back seven years ago.  While I’m not in touch with many of my pledge sisters these days, the closeness that I have with my little sis, Jennifer, and my cousin, Ashlea, (who also happens to be my grandlittle sis!), is all thanks to Delta Gamma.  There is nothing in this world for which I would trade those days of driving around Fort Worth with Whitney, or my close friendship with Jennifer, or watching my cousin, Ashlea, become my sister.

Mississippi Sin Dip
Sondra Cochran
Servings: 3 cups; Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 40 for the bowl 


Mississippi Sin Dip in a bread bowl, served with Wheat Thins

• 8 oz fat-free cream cheese
• 1 1/2 c (12 oz) fat-free sour cream
• 1/2 c chopped ham
• 1/3 c chopped green chiles
• 2 jalapenos (more or less for taste)
• 2 c shredded cheddar cheese (using fat free would cut down on points value)
• 1/3 c green onions
• 1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Loaf of round bread/bread bowl

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Mix all ingredients thoroughly
3. Slice top of bread off and scoop out inside (You may cube and use the bread for dipping)
4. Pour mixture into bread
5. Wrap in foil & bake 1 hour at 350° 
6. Serve with crackers, chips, or veggies

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine