Another Great Dip
January 15, 2013
My sister and her family came over last week. My niece went to San Diego during the Christmas break with her high school band and they came over to watch it. My niece’s band participated in the Balloon Parade and the Holiday Bowl’s half-time. The Balloon Parade was televised, but the half-time performance was not.
We had a good time watching the parade and enjoying some great snacks. One of those snacks was this artichoke spinach dip. It makes a nice size portion, but I’ve found that if a I place the dip in smaller containers it works better. Maybe because it makes me feel less of a glutton.
I’ve been making this dip for years, but it had moved out of my rotation. Until now. I knew I needed to make this after I saw the jumbo jars of artichoke hearts at Costco. I suppose you could make this dip with regular cream cheese, but I never have. It has just the right amount of garlic, spinach and artichoke heart ratio. Serve this at your next get together or football party and watch it disappear.
Artichoke Spinach Dip
- 1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1-10 oz package Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove all moisture
- 1 C Artichoke Hearts in oil, drained
- 1-8 oz container of soft garlic-chive cream cheese
- 2 Eggs
- 1 C Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- Pepper, fresh ground
- Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In blender or food processor, add parmesan cheese, garlic, spinach, artichoke, cream cheese, and eggs. Blend thoroughly. Add mixture to medium-sized bowl. Fold in Mozzarella cheese. Transfer to a baking dish. Garnish with pepper and bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes until heated trough. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips, crackers or pita chips.
Oh the days of high school band… It’s been a long time, but my friends and I would go to IHOP after our halftime shows (yes, it was 10 pm) to order huge stacks of steaming chocolate chip pancakes. It became our little tradition, although your artichoke spinach dip probably would’ve been a little bit healthier!
Oh I doubt that! I missed out on high school band…
Karen
Our band was huge (think 250 members!), but it was like one big family. When we went on trips to competitions, we needed 5 charter buses! But I’m sure you did lots of other fun things in high school besides freeze on the football field at halftime… :]
Karen, I’m catching up with your blog this morning. I’ve been to many a Holiday Bowl and the Big Bay Balloon Parade is just awesome (especially with San Diego Bay right behind you). How exciting for your niece to be in the parade!
Artichoke spinach dip is one of my favorites. I love your idea of serving it in individual ramekins …I have the same blue Le Creuset in your pic. Looks perfect for this Sunday too.
Allison-
My niece did have a ball in the parade. I’ll be serving this dip during the big game for sure.
Karen