spinach dip

Best ever spinach dip becomes… mediocre

/ Meg / 2 Comments

So I did attempt to make my spinach and artichoke dip on Sunday — though with a slightly different, and easier, recipe. And with moderate success! It was good, but not nearly as creamy as I hoped it would be. I doubled the recipe and, when I increased the amount of spinach, I think I was a little stingy with the alfredo sauce and mayo! It definitely needed more wet ingredients. But I’ll keep all that locked away in my “failed recipes” file for now!

It looked pretty, though:

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And my artichoke hearts were quite delicious! Even though saying I ate the “heart” of something makes my stomach flip over.

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Here’s the original recipe I used — it was very simple and straight-forward. My only helpful advice? Double the amount of cheese and alfredo sauce! And add in some salt. A pinch or two won’t hurt you!



Best Ever Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Alfredo sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small casserole dish, mix the spinach, artichoke hearts, cheese, mayonnaise, and Alfredo sauce.
3. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly bubbly and lightly browned.

Pass the spinach dip

/ Meg / 4 Comments

Sweet jellybeans, I love spinach dip. If I found myself stranded on a ship in the middle of the ocean with nothing to eat but tins and tins of the stuff, I’m pretty sure I’d still be fat and happy by the time a passing vessel finally found me. It’s creamy, it’s filling, and hey — it has vegetables! That’s good for you, right?

Palmer and I have strategic systems of rating which local restaurants (and they’re chains) have the best spinach dip — often touted at these establishments as spinach and artichoke dip. I’ll take it either way. To date, my favorite recipe has to be Red Robin’s! It has tomatoes and onions, too, and it’s just… it’s delicious. Runner-up honors go to Olive Garden, which serves theirs with bread, and TGI Friday’s, which is very cheesy.

It’s with this spinach dip love that I came across a recipe for a hot artichoke spinach dip on AllRecipes, and that’s sounding incredibly good right now! Especially after I’ve been sick. And it’s snowing outside? An excellent comfort food! Too bad I’m not slipping and sliding my way over to the grocery store to get the needed ingredients, but I’m stashing this recipe away for a future rainy — or snowy — day.

Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip

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Ingredients
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. In a blender or food processor, place artichoke hearts, Romano cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic. Pulse until chopped, but not ground. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, heavy cream, sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Stir in artichoke mixture. Spoon into prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Yield is 16 servings.