Thursday, February 5, 2009

Craving Ellie- Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This week's Craving Ellie recipe was chosen by one of my favorite bloggers, Cathy, who blogs over at The Tortefeasor. Cathy cracks me up. Every single time I go and read her posts, I am seriously laughing. She is so fun and I really enjoyed her pick, Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip. I know that most Ellies made this one for the Superbowl, but we don't watch it and I came down with the flu this weekend. I have been sleeping, taking advil and tylenol, coughing and sleeping some more for the past 5-6 days. Yuck!
But, I still wanted to make this dip, so one day, I drugged up and set to it. Because it was a fairly easy recipe, I didn't feel too horrible after throwing it together and the results at the dinner table were lots of happy faces. We served it with tortilla chips (kind of ruins the whole healthy thing) and carrots & celery sticks. Everyone loved it and it tasted so good and was so easy, that I am sure I will make it again. Hopefully this flu bug will be gone by the beginning of next week, but I will apologize now for the lack of comments I have made. Sitting in front of the computer is not easy for me when I feel like this.
Go and see what the other Ellies thought about this yummy dip, by checking out the Craving Ellie Blogroll!

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip by Ellie Krieger
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic
1 (9-ounce) package artichoke hearts, defrosted, rinsed and dried
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess liquid squeezed out.
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese)
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are light golden but not browned. Remove from heat and cool.
In the bowl of a food processor combine artichoke hearts, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, Neufchatel, mozzarella and salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add cooled onion-garlic mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Transfer mixture into an 8-inch glass square baking dish or 9-inch glass pie plate which has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve with pita wedges or crudites

Coming Sometime Soon (Hopefully when the flu is gone) Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins and a Barley-Tofu Salad with a Greek Twist

18 comments:

  1. oH GOSH!!! That first pictures made my tummy rumble!! It looks soooo good! I shall have to put this dip on my list of things to make when I get back from America! I'll miss looking at all your nummies while I am away!

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  2. I hear you about the sicknesses! It seems that someone in our house has been sick for the past month. I am so done with cold/flu season. We really liked this recipe too and served it with chips and crackers to defeat the healthiness as well.

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  3. I love Cathy too!! What a great choice. The dip looks fantastic!! I will be trying this!!

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  4. OH NO! Not the dreaded flu bug. I hate being sick. But being sick always makes you thankful when you are well. And I hope you will be soon. I can't believe your dedication to make this when you don't feel good. But wasn't it just the best tasting dip ever? We loved it. So creamy. Yum. Get well soon!!

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  5. I hope you feel better! I seriously want to have some of this dip. I'm sure it counts as a full meal, right?

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  6. I love spinach and artichoke dip. Your's looks great. YUM!

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  7. Hope your feeling better. Glad you enjoyed the dip. It was a great pick

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  8. Oh, you can even make spinach and artichoke dip look pretty. How do you do that? I am so glad that you liked this, Mare, and so impressed that you hauled yourself out of a sick bed to make this! Thank you for the kind words -- right back at ya, babe!

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  9. So, here's my goal: to cook as well when I'm healthy as Mary Ann does when she's got the flu. Seriously! Love the photo of that dip; and I'd make the same substitutions. Looks yummy!
    Nancy

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  10. I'm sorry you're sick, feel better soon!

    This dip is really special to me, an aunt of mine used to make a similar dip and I loved it :).

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  11. I give you credit for mustering up the energy to make the dip when you had the flu. Take care and get back to 100% really soon.

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  12. YUM!!! We love love love spinach and artichoke dip.

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  13. Oh, I so hope you are feeling better girl!! But, look at you still cooking away! ;)

    I want some dip. This looks great. And Cathy cracks me up too!

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  14. Aww! Aren't you a trooper to make this even though you were sick! When I'm sick I can't muster that much energy. Yours looks delicious--great photo, too!

    I hope you feel better!

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  15. That picture looks amazing!! I hope you feel better soon.

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  16. I hope that by the time you get this comment, you are feeling tons better! :o) The dip looks wonderful, Mare. So creamy and luscious.

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  17. I've always just purchased this dip from Sam's Club. Now I'll have to try to make my own. I'm also looking forward to your cranberry-zuchini muffins. Hope you feel better soon.

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  18. I have an award for you on my blog!

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment on my blog! I appreciate you checking out my creations and leaving your thoughts. I will try to get back to you, through comments here or by visiting your blog. Thanks again!
Mary Ann