Crockpot Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Merry Christmas, everyone!! Did you have a nice time celebrating? Ours was pretty fantastic, although the days leading up to Christmas were pretty stressful, to the point where I didn't even care about Christmas and wasn't excited at all. But I had a nice, long, nine mile run on Christmas Eve that cleared my head a little and lots of family here with us for church and dinner on Christmas Eve. And with two little boys, it's hard to not catch their excitement. We were all very spoiled by my family, and now today the boys and I are hanging out at home playing with all our new toys while the husband has to go to work.

We went to my mom's house for Christmas "dinner" last night. We had our usual Christmas "dinner" spread of tons of appetizers. I had four I planned on making, but I ended up whittling it back to two. One of them I made to take to a party last Friday, and while they were tasty, they were time consuming, and I didn't want to deal with them. Then another I decided to skip after seeing how much food there was already, plus I was tired of being in the kitchen and wanted to hang out and drink my wine. It sounds like a super tasty dip, so I will make it at some point.

When I was deciding what I'd make this year I perused my Snacks board on Pinterest and got really, really overwhelmed. So many good appetizers! But I knew I wouldn't want to be in the kitchen slaving away either here or at my mom's, so the fact that this was a slow cooker recipe appealed to my lazy nature. I ended up changing it a bit because of time constraints and lack of ingredients, so there will be a link to the original recipe, but the one below is how I ended up making it.

Crockpot Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Dip
Source: Adapted from Cooking Light

1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (8-ounce) block light cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) carton low-fat sour cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Place all ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart electric slow cooker; stir well. Cover with lid; cook on low-heat setting 2 hours or until cheese is melted and dip is heated through. Serve warm with toasted pita wedges or tortilla chips.

*****

The original recipe called for 3/4 cup milk. I debated calling my mom to see if she had milk because sometimes she doesn't. But I figured she would. Then she didn't. My uncle and husband both offered to run to the gas station to get some for me, but I opted to not. I figured I'd see how it turned out and if it needed some liquid, I'd come up with a solution of some sort. After it cooked for awhile, I checked on it and found the consistency of it was perfect! I was so glad I had skipped the milk; it would have been way too runny with that added to it. I had bought tortilla chips to serve with this because I have the hardest time finding pita chips at my Safeway store, and I just didn't want to go to other stores in the days leading up to Christmas. This was a super tasty dip, and it's one I will definitely make again. Tasty and easy are two of my favorite combinations!!

Do you like my festive nail polish? It was one of my gifts from Boy #1. I heart that kid!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

There's a blog I follow called Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes. She makes all sorts of yummy, low WW points food. I'd read recipes for this dip before and thought it sounded good but never tried it. Then last Thursday I saw this light version and thought, "Hmmm...I should try that one." Then Friday night I was at a baby shower for my friend Kelly, and someone had made the regular (i.e. not light!) version of this dip. I could not stop eating it. Even on my way out the door I went back over to the table for another bite. I woke up Saturday morning craving it. It was THAT good. I decided then and there that I'd try the light version--with a few substitutions. For Gina's recipe, check out the posting on her blog. My version is below.

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

2-3 cups shredded cooked chicken
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup light ranch dressing
3/4 cup Frank's hot sauce
3/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first four ingredients and spread in 8x12 baking dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and dip is bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips and/or celery sticks.

*****

I don't know if the husband was excited to try this or not, but I could not wait for game time to have this. I had a huge chicken breast in the freezer that I thawed and baked. I'm not entirely sure how much chicken it was, but it was quite a bit. The husband declared this to be his new favorite dip that I make. We barely ate the muffuletta because we ate so much of the dip. It was gone by Monday night. And Tuesday morning, the husband said he wished there was some left he could have for breakfast. Somehow these ingredients morph into crack when combined. You should definitely try this. Soon. And invite me over for some while you're at it!

Dip prior to receiving its cheese topping:


Mmmm...baked and ready to be devoured:


Oozy, gooey, bubbly dish of dip goodness:

Shrimp and Crab Dip

I wanted to have some kind of dip for the party, so I pulled out my Best of Louisiana cookbook for some ideas. I thought this sounded good and easy...that was all I needed!

Shrimp and Crab Dip

2 cans Small Shrimp
2 blocks Cream Cheese (8 Ounces Each)
½ cans Shrimp Juice
Juice Of 2 Lemons
1 Tablespoon Grated Onion
1 teaspoon Pressed Garlic
1 can Crabmeat (6.5 Ounces)
Tabasco To Taste

Drain shrimp and reserve the juice. Cream the cheese and combine with shrimp juice. Add lemon juice, onion, garlic, crabmeat, Tabasco, and half of the shrimp. Add the last of the shrimp and fold in carefully. Serve with Ritz crackers.

*****

This was REALLY good! I couldn't stop eating it. I think I could have added in more of the shrimp juice, but I didn't want it to be overpowering and figured the flavor would get stronger the longer it sat. This is something I will definitely make again!!

Shower Food

We are back from our quick weekend jaunt to Boise. It was so great to see my best friend--I really miss her. :( We've known each other since our ages were single digits. I'm so excited for her to be a mommy. She and her husband are going to be great parents. Her shower was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed putting together all of the food. We had a ton, but a lot of it was eaten, so it must have been a hit. I figured I would list everything I made in one post, linking to previous posts of recipes and posting ones I haven't done before. So, here goes!!

Hummus

Smoked Salmon Dip

Vegetable Dip

Floating Island Punch

Confetti Pasta Salad

Chile Cheese Spirals
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 can (2 1/4 ounces) chopped ripe olives, drained
4 (8-inch) soft taco-size reduced-fat flour tortillas
Bottled chunky salsa

COMBINE cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chiles, green onions, bell pepper and olives in medium bowl.

SPREAD 1/2 cup cheese mixture on each tortilla; roll up. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1 hour.

REMOVE plastic wrap; slice each roll into six 3/4-inch pieces. Serve with salsa for dipping.

Pioneer Woman's Mystery Rolls

2 sticks butter
4 to 6 ounces crumbled blue cheese
2 cans flaky biscuits
Combine butter and cheese on baking pan. Place into 350 oven for a couple of minutes, or until butter is melted. Remove from oven and stir. Cut biscuits into fourths, then toss in butter mixture. Bake on same pan (or different, if you prefer) for 8 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Eat warm.

Queso Dip

1 lb. VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

MIX ingredients in microwaveable bowl.

MICROWAVE on HIGH 5 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted, stirring after 3 min.

SERVE with assorted cut-up fresh vegetables, WHEAT THINS Original Crackers or tortilla chips.

*****

I think that was it. Oh, I did a baked brie, but that's just puff pastry around a wheel of brie, so not really worth posting a recipe. I need to upload my pictures and look at the food spread to see if I missed anything. We also bought a few things from Costco--their turkey roll sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, a broccoli salad, fruit and veggie trays, sliced cheese for cheese and crackers. The Mystery Rolls were fantastic...I think I'm going to make them to bring to Bunco later this week. I couldn't stop eating them. They were especially tasty with some of the smoked salmon dip on them. Yum!





That's the boy sampling some of the food.

Pan-Fried Onion Dip

I had planned on making risotto for dinner on Thursday night, but there was so much pasta left over, we just had that again. It was just as good the second time. The husband had thirds, the boy had seconds. I added some balsamic vinegar to it--just a splash or two--and it was really yummy.

Now I have a reprieve from cooking until Monday! There will be some good recipes coming up, too. I just got a new cookbook with a ton of recipes I'm dying to try, so I think the next couple weeks will be meals solely from that.

Last night I had some friends over to scrapbook, so I didn't have dinner, just snacks. I made Chex Mix and a dip from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I heart Ina Garten...I heart her a lot. I'd like to be her, just for a day. I also wouldn't mind being Gayle King for a day, I decided yesterday as I was watching Oprah. Anyway, I had seen this recipe in her cookbook and wanted to try it for a long time. I'm a sucker for Lipton Onion Dip, so I thought a made-from-scratch version would be worth trying.

Pan-Fried Onion Dip
2 large yellow onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup good mayonnaise

Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix well. Taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

*****

I was a bit shy on the sour cream, so I added in a little extra mayo to make up for it, and I could really taste the mayo. I think next time I'd cut back a bit on that and maybe add in a touch more cream cheese and sour cream to compensate for it (or maybe Miracle Whip Light doesn't count as "good mayonnaise"?). I also thought the onion slices were a little too big, so instead of half-rounds I think I'd cut them into quarters. It wasn't really comparable to the Lipton dip, but it was really good, and my friends all liked it. Or at least they said they did. ;) Oh, and I used Vidalia onions because they were the only yellow onions I could find at the store, and they were on sale for cheap. They were maybe a little too sweet for the dip. But, again like I said, it was pretty tasty. There's quite a bit left, too, so I'll be snacking on it all weekend!

Smoked Salmon Dip

My grandma turned 90 last Thursday, and we had her weekend birthday celebration this past Saturday and Sunday. My whole family was in town for it which was so fun. Saturday night we had a party for her at my mom's house, then yesterday we all went to brunch. For the past several years my grandma has had a happy hour party for her birthday...drinks and appetizers. We all bring a few things, and it's usually quite the feast. This year was no exception. My uncle made stuffed mushrooms, my mom made a seven layer dip, artichoke dip, and a crab spread, there was a cheese and cracker tray, a veggie tray, and I made baked brie, two kinds of hummus, and this smoked salmon dip. Jealous you weren't there, aren't you? Oh, and since I can't drink I made a yummy punch with ginger ale, white grape juice, and pineapple juice. When I'm not pregnant, I may make it with some vodka or Malibu.

Anyway, back to the dip recipe. I saw it in the March issue of Cooking Light and thought it sounded awesome. I had originally planned on doing baked brie and prosciutto wrapped asparagus for the party (yes, we start planning early), but when I saw this I decided to skip the asparagus (although if you've never had prosciutto wrapped asparagus, I highly recommend you try it) and make the smoked salmon dip instead. It was super easy and super yummy. The husband and I just about finished up what was left for dinner last night.

Smoked Salmon Dip
(8-ounce) tub light cream cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped, divided
Dill sprigs (optional)

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a food processor. Add half of salmon; process until smooth. Fold in remaining half of salmon. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

*****

I love fresh dill, and any excuse to use it is a good one with me. And Trader Joe's had organic fresh dill for super cheap, so that's even better. I didn't use tub cream cheese, I used a regular block and it worked fine. The color of the dip is really pretty after the salmon is processed with the cream cheese. I had a hard time getting my chopped salmon folded in evenly, but it didn't seem to matter too much. And normally I'm not much of a garnisher, but I did this time since it was a special occasion. Wish I would have taken a picture of it because I even used a fancy bowl for it. You know those fancy bowls...you got them as a wedding present and now they sit in the back of a cabinet and maybe get used once a year. I used Kashi's TLC 7-grain crackers with it, and they were really good.

Shrimp Dip

No dinner tonight at the Knightly house, I'm going to a girl's night at my friend Gina's house. Everyone's supposed to bring a bottle of wine and an appetizer. I've gone back and forth with what appetizer to take, but I think I've finally decided on my grandma's shrimp dip. It's so good. When I was single, I used to make it some nights for dinner.

Shrimp Dip
1 can Cream of Shrimp soup
1 block cream cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onions

Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for a couple minutes, stir. Continue to microwave if not heated through. Serve with potato chips.

*****

Honestly I'm not sure how long to microwave it for. I put it in for a couple minutes, stir, do a couple more minutes, stir. Just until it's hot. And I like to eat it with Wavy Lays. Sometimes it can be hard to find Cream of Shrimp soup, but I have always found it at Walmart. Normally it's on the top shelf of the Campbell's soups, with all the other ones that people hardly ever buy. My friend Brooke has made this before and added in extra shrimpies. I think I may do that tonight. Oh man, I'm so excited to have this dip. I kind of hope no one eats it so I can bring it all home and gorge on it alone! :)

Have a good weekend, all! The husband and I are having a date night at a swanky Scottsdale resort tomorrow night, so no dinner cooking for me! And I think Sunday we're having dinner at my grandma's, so I'll see you guys next week!

My night off!

I have Bunco tonight, so that means no dinner is being prepared at the Knightly house. Actually tomorrow night I'm not cooking either as we're going to a family dinner at my grandma's. What a treat for me! :) I do have to take a snack to Bunco, so I'll post that recipe. Every month we have a theme of some sort, and this month's was to bring a recipe our moms made when we were little. I immediately thought of a dip my mom used to make that I loved. I actually made it all the time when I was pregnant.

Vegetable Dip
1 envelope Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 16 ounce container sour cream

Add the soup mix to the sour cream and stir. Chill. Serve with Fritos.

******

Voila! There you have it. I know it will be good, so I won't bother posting a review tomorrow. ;) I'll be back on Sunday with what we're having for dinner that night. I need to come up with something as what I had originally planned isn't going to work.

Have a good weekend!