HOT SPINACH & ARTICHOKE DIP

Who doesn’t love spinach and artichoke dip? Well, I know a few people who don’t, but honestly, I think something’s off with them.

I order this dip almost every time I dine out and have been making it for years. Over time, I’ve experimented with different recipes—some simple, some more elaborate—and have tweaked ingredients until I found the perfect balance of easy and delicious. If you’re up for trying it, here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 – 10 oz box  or 1 cup of frozen spinach  (thawed and drained)
• 1 – 8 0z  package of cream cheese (softened or microwave for 30 seconds)
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 can of artichoke hearts (drained)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice)
• 1/2 tsp of chopped garlic or a couple of dashes of garlic powder to taste
• optional:  about 1/2 cup of either/both  mozzarella and parmesan cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. I use a mixer to make sure all of the ingredients are blended  thoroughly.  I place the spinach in a colander to drain while I gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Press or squeeze any excess liquids out of the spinach and  dump all ingredients into your mixing bowl.  Mix until  ingredients until blended well.
3. I spray my dish with a cooking spray or lightly oil it to keep all of the cheese from sticking.  You can make it without the oils but the cheese will stick to the pan a bit more.    You can use any dish for your dip.  An 8 x 8 is perfect but I have used pie plates, casserole dishes, oval dishes or basically any dish you want.  The dish that I used in this photo is an 8 x 10.
4. I like a lot of cheese in my spinach and artichoke dip so I sprinkle 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese on top of my dip before I put it in the oven.  Bake the dip for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
5. Grab some pita chips or your favorite crackers and dig in while it’s still warm !