Cookies and Milk with Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Very Crispy, Very Crunchy)

Posted on February 28, 2012 | 1 comment

Bakers Sugar/ ultra fine sugar for a crispier cookieCookies and MilkCookies and MilkCaught Joel eating the batterCaught Joel eating the batterCrispy Chocolate Chip CookiesCookies and MilkCookies and MilkCaught Joel eating the batter

Caught Joel eating the batter

I just love a crispy chocolate chip cookie. Plain and simple. I don’t love the chewy ones nearly as much.  While perusing through all of my magazines and books, trying out new recipes, etc., I found this one. It’s similar to many I have but the few key ingredients like superfine sugar and vegetable oil make all the difference. The recipe was in The Food Network Magazine. This recipe produces a crispy cookie pretty simply. Nothing beats a comforting cold glass of milk with a dunked chocolate chip cookie. I’ll take it any day of the week. These cookies are great with tea and coffee, as well. You can freeze them and take them out as you want them. I cannot keep these cookies around because I will eat them all. I keep only a few out and freeze the rest in a big Ziploc freezer bag, they defrost very quickly. The use of vegetable oil in this recipe helps the batter spread, so the cookies come out extra thin and crispy. Superfine sugar makes for a fine, crumbly, crispy texture as well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter, softened (leave it out at room temp. or microwave for a few seconds to soften, not melt)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup superfine sugar

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter, vegetable oil, superfine sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 5 minutes (use the paddle attachment). The mixture will look a bit separated at this point. Beat in 1 teaspoon water and the vanilla until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. (Do not overbeat.) Beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand at the end.

Drop small tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches apart.  Rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking process, I rotated the cookie sheet after 10 minutes, they baked between 12 and 15 minutes in my oven .  You want them to be crispy and brown, not just around the edges. You can see in photos they were flat and crispy with chips coming out of cookie, original recipe called for 20 minutes that would have been way too long in my oven. They came out perfectly but I did keep an eye on them. After you rotate them, just keep an eye on them.  If cookies spread into one another in the oven take a sharp knife and cut them apart while they are still warm  then when I lifted off cookie sheet they came apart.  When finished, remove the cookies from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Pour a large cold glass of milk and knock yourself out! As you can see from the pictures, I caught Joel eating the batter, which tasted pretty amazing.

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Academy Awards Sunday and What I’m Doing

Posted on February 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

Academy Awards Sunday is here. My plan is to ski or hike during the day, have my DVR set for pre-show on E!, and then the main event and of course the after show. (and don’t forget to DVR the Fashion Police ) I like to get home, put on my PJs and just set myself up for the night of nights. As most of you are already aware, I am an avid movie fan. This year I even did an actual mail in ballot with all my picks, so wish me luck. I have seen all the top nominees with the exception of a few documentaries and foreign films. It’s tough to do it all. I think I will have to dig in to some of those wonderful leftovers that are in our freezer–maybe the lasagna and the italian wedding soup.  This is the beauty of cooking a lot and freezing the leftovers. They are perfect for a night like this when all you want to do is curl up and watch TV. The thing of it is that I really do love to watch by myself. This is not to say that there won’t be a lot of  texting going on, but no phoning–it’s too distracting. Texting and pausing is totally acceptable, and if I have to talk I will. Joel will usually make an appearance for a few awards, but he lacks the patience to stick it out. So here’s to my annual Oscars Party of One and may the best movie win!

*P.S. Just a hunch , I think the Artist is going to win, (and I adored it) but I would really love to see Hugo win.

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Garbage Pail Pasta – Pasta from the Pantry – Vegetarian style

Posted on February 23, 2012 | 2 comments

What a name for a most delicious pasta dish. The recipe comes from Arthur Schwartz’s cookbook , “The Southern Italian  Table” , I actually saw it in an article from the Wall Street Journal of all places.  It contains 13 simple ingredients that are put together. It contains 3 kinds of nuts, but I only had 2 and that worked out just as well. My family was here and Kerri being a vegetarian , I am always on the lookout for new and exciting vegetarian recipes. If there is an ingredient that you really don’t like , take it out. I was trying to think of substitutions for what we had , I wanted to keep it vegetarian but I suppose you could substitute anchovies ( chopped finely) for capers, you need the salt and bite of the capers, and I suppose anchovies could do the trick. The olives add salt, and I chopped them up good as well, because Joel would probably not touch it if he knew they were in there. The raisins add sweetness and use the golden ones, they will look better.  Kerri doesn’t love olives and she loved it. My son in-law Brian kept eating it out of the fridge, and so did Kerri and Jenn.  So it got the family seal of approval and I will definitley make it again. You can experiment with other pasta, but I prefer just plain spaghetti, not too thick and not too thin. I also changed around quantities of a few ingredients to my liking, so feel free to do so.  It’s really a “whatever you have in the pantry ” kind of pasta.  Cooks rather quickly , and very tasty. ( like you’re in Italy)

It was bound to happen that the photos of this dish got erased, so sorry I only have the one of me cooking , it’ll have to do.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon finely chopped walnuts

1 Tablespoon whole pine nuts ( Pignoli)

1 Tablespoon finely chopped hazelnuts ( I didn’t have so I doubled up on Pignoli, and everyone loved it)

3 Tablespoons raisins ( use golden ones)

1 rounded tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 Package of Grape Tomatoes diced ( you can use cherry tomatoes as well) original only called for 1/4 cup but I used whole package, and it was wonderful)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

6 small black olives ( preferably Gaeta) pitted and coarsely chopped

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt for cooking pasta,  plus more to taste. Be careful with the salt, add as needed.

8 ounce box of Spaghetti ( use whatever kind you like best or have in pantry) I always use Spaghetti or Perciatelli

Parmesan Cheese for topping if you so desire

Directions:

In a 9 or 10 inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat, when hot , add nuts and saute until pine nuts become lightly colored.

Add raisins, capers, and tomatoes. Cook , stir frequently, for at least 5 minutes ( tomatoes will start to break down)

Add oregano, parsley, and olives. Stir well, Cook for a few minutes, Salt to taste. Set aside. I actually let it sit in pan on hot stove for a while till I was ready to mix in pasta. It really broke down nicely, the longer it sat.

Boil spaghetti in at least 3 quarts of water with a heaping tablespoon of salt. When cooked, drain well. I saved a cup of pasta water, in the event pasta came out to dry, I used a little of it. It’s not imperative but I always do that with “sauceless pastas”

Toss pasta with seasonings  over low heat until well mixed. I then put in a large bowl and continued mixing and added a bit of the pasta water . It was perfection.

If desired, serve with grated cheese ( I desired)

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Pasta e Fagioli ( Pasta and Bean Soup)

Posted on February 21, 2012 | 2 comments

Me and My Grandson Brody/ from visit with the family

019I have been making this soup forever,  This is really just a tomato base soup with beans and pasta. How bad can that be? unless you hate beans and pasta that is. I usually have ingredients in the pantry and it is a wonderful warm experience, with a nice salad this is a perfect meal. I do use dried beans so I need to soak overnight, if you want to cheat you can just use canned beans. It is a wonderful hearty soup halfway between a soup and a pasta.

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes ( San Marzano)

10 – 12 fresh basil leaves

red pepper flakes

handful of italian parsley, chopped

5 – 6 cups cooked beans and their liquid ( I use cannellini beans usually) any type of bean will work I use Cannellini or Red Kidney beans and a combination of both is beautiful.* feel free to use canned if you don’t have time to cook the beans. ( 2 cans rinsed and drained) the canned beans work out perfectly and it’s a very quick and easy way to go.

5 cups water

app. 1 cup pasta, elbows, tubetti, ditalini, or broken spaghetti

salt and freshly ground black pepper ( I probably used about 1Tablespoon of Kosher Salt but you’ll have to taste for yourself , start with a Tablespoon and use more as needed) Pepper I just add in a few grinds of the pepper mill ( about 12) and taste , taste , taste!

Directions:

In a large , heavy stockpot ( Le Creuset) saute onion in olive oil. When onion is golden and transparent, add garlic. Cook for a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and herbs. Cook until the tomatoes begin to thicken and reduce, about 10 minutes.  Taste for salt.

Add the beans and their cooking liquid. (* see notes on cooking beans) Add the water. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes – until the beans begin to break down and the soup begins to thicken. Lower heat to a slow simmer, as low as you can.  Stir frequently to prevent it from sticking and burning bottom of the pot. Taste for salt and pepper again.  I always like it to simmer for a long time, an hour would probably do it, but if I have the time I let it sit for as long as I can.  Sometimes after it’s been simmering for a while ,  I turn off the heat and right before serving just bring to a boil and add pasta. Just be careful not to let it burn, stir frequently . If you need more liquid add water a little at a time, I showed a picture of my pot filler which is the greatest thing to have in a kitchen, makes it super easy to fill a pot.

When you’re ready to serve, right before add the pasta and cook until pasta is al dente, about 5 – 10 minutes depending on type of pasta you’re using. I used ditalini.

Serve immediately in large soup bowls.

Guests can drizzle some good olive oil and grate some Parmesan Cheese over.  Should serve 8 – 10 depending on appetites. I froze remainder for another time.

*Cooking dried Beans:

Place the beans in a bowl and cover with water – about 2″ – 3″ above the beans. Soak overnight.

Rinse and drain the beans, remove any stones, foreign matter, or beans that have not expanded.

Place the beans in a heavy pot and cover with water – about 2″ above the beans.

Bring the beans to a boil. Turn down heat, cover and cook at a very low simmer. Do not allow beans to boil hard. The beans should retain their shape. Cook until beans are tender. Cooking time will vary depending on the type of beans and how fresh they are. Plan on cooking for 2 to 3 hours.

The beans will now be ready to be used for any recipe calling for cooked beans.

If you don’t have time to soak or you just forgot, you can place beans in the pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, cover and let stand for 1 hour, and then proceed with the rest of the directions.

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Lasagna in the Slow Cooker

Posted on February 18, 2012 | 1 comment

I have to say when I first heard about lasagna in the slow cooker I was sort of skeptical.  My friend Cathy told me about it; she said she had made it for her family and I should give it a go.   The original recipe is from Jessica Seinfeld, who sneaks vegetables and healthy stuff into her food. I did make a few changes from original recipe , I used more sauce and a little more salt , I used fresh spinach which can easily be substituted for ground turkey, sausage, or any type of meat you like.  Next time I make this recipe I will be using meat because it really was quite easy and pretty quick even by slow cooker standards. It cooked in 3 1/2 hours, looked amazing and tasted delicious. I am still a little surprised by how good it was. The spinach wilts down and almost looks like basil in there. Even if you don’t like spinach, don’t worry because even though you start out with 5 ounces (which looks like a lot),  you hardly taste it at all but for those of you who do like it, it’s an added bonus. This lasagna was moist, cheesy and hearty.   So get out your slow cookers and give it a go. This is especially great for a big crowd. It easily serves 6 people.  We of course had a chicken dish alongside, because no amount of prodding could get Joel to try the lasagna, once he saw the spinach. Oh well, what are you going to do? He doesn’t know what he’s missing.  Thanks Cathy for the great idea, and of course, Jessica Seinfeld.

Ingredients:

I used 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes (the recipe original calls for 3 14 oz. cans but I thought it needed a little more sauce and I used 2 large cans which are app. 28 oz. each . You can always use homemade sauce if you have it already made and want to use it. Just make sure you have enough.)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp. dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

*1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (use as much or as little of this, whatever you like)

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 containers (15 ounce each) ricotta (Fresh is awesome, but not always available. Use whatever you’d like. I used part- skim ricotta.)

2 cups grated mozzarella (again use whatever you’d like, package is fine. Just don’t use fat free, it doesn’t work well.)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

12 lasagna noodles (about 3/4 of a 1 lb. box) don’t cook them*see note at bottom

5 ounces (or 6 cups) of baby spinach (1 package in the produce section is 5 ounces)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, red pepper and black pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella and Parmesan.

In the bottom of a 5 – 6 quart slow cooker (which I sprayed with Pam first), spread a thin layer of sauce. Top with 3 of the noodles (breaking to fit as necessary). Spread about 1 cup of the sauce over the noodles and layer with 2 cups of the spinach and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture. Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach and cheese mixture. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, sauce and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.

Cook on low, covered, for 3 – 3 1/2 hours. Noodles should be tender in center by then, mine was. I then switched it to warm until we ate it. I served it from slow cooker with a big spoon, you don’t get those neat little squares but it really held together quite well,  I left some in fridge for leftovers and froze the rest for another time.

*I broke the side noodles in 1/2 and just angled them a little, keeping the center one intact. Once it’s all cooked it doesn’t matter that they were broken, it really came out perfectly.

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Family Visit and what we’re Cooking with Candi

Posted on February 15, 2012 | 3 comments

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Our kids and grandkids are out for a visit,  and we are enjoying it so very much. I don’t want to go on and on about having grandkids, but it really is an unparalled joy . We cooked up some Shrimp Scampi and Pasta. Thanks to Joel we’ve been able to obtain the most awesome Mexican White Shrimp ( recipe is on blog, posted on 12/26/11) and it was such a lovely evening. Even Brody enjoyed the Shrimp. Joel and Brian cleaned the shrimp, and Jenn made the boys dinner and I cooked our dinner.  We had a delicious sald with the Honey Lime Vinaigrette ( recipe is on blog , posted on 11/16/11 . This recipe is really scrumptious and loved by the whole Kolen/Turoff clan. ( OK not so much Riley) . Uploaded a few pics for all to see. Of course we had that delicious Applesauce/Raisin Bundt Cake. I had to freeze the rest of it after I ate it for Breakfast today, so yummy!

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Applesauce and Raisin Cake – an Homage to the Bundt Queen

Posted on February 14, 2012 | 1 comment

I always call my friend Susan the Queen of the Bundt Cake. It certainly seems to be her calling, as she is always coming up with new and delicious Bundt Cakes for all of us to try. I just hope I do her justice in trying to duplicate it. She made this cake for everyone on New Years, and I have been wanting to try it ever since.  I had to change one of the ingredients because I bought chunky applesauce instead of plain applesauce. Of course, if you’re so inclined you can make your own applesauce (I wasn’t so inclined today!).  The original recipe hails from The Silver Palate, and I have to say this is one cookbook you don’t want to be without. There are so very many wonderful recipes in it. Our kids are on their way out to Colorado so I woke up early, had all the ingredients ready, and had someone to bake it for. I hope it comes out as good as Susan’s cake did, because hers was delicious. It has a slightly spicy flavoring, and is just so darn good. Am very happy to report that this cake came out awesome! Super Delicious with the chunky applesauce. Very moist and delicious, cooked perfectly at 1 hour and 10 minutes. Thanks Suki and the Silver Palate!

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus a little extra for greasing the pan (Butter should be at room temperature.  I woke up early and didn’t have time to let it sit so I just put it in microwave to soften for 15 seconds.)

*if baking for the Jewish Holidays and don’t want to use butter you can use margarine

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 eggs (at room temperature)

2 cups applesauce (I used Chunky because probably didn’t have reading glasses in market and grabbed it.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, or 1 teaspoon freshly grated

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup raisins

Lemon/Orange Icing ingredients:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl (electric mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the applesauce and vanilla.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda together then add to applesauce mixture. Next, sprinkle in the raisins, and blend gently but thoroughly.

Pour the batter into the tube pan and set on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. 1 hour and 10 – 15 minutes. I cooked it 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes (I will leave it all day as I go out hiking, and turn it over when it is completely cool when I return.)  When it is completely cool, I will make the icing and drizzle over the top. A little trick is to poke little holes in the cake (on top, with cake tester or toothpick) and pour icing over the cake and it will go into cake and infuse some of the lemon/orange directly into cake.

Instructions for icing:

Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl.

Dribble in the juices, stirring constantly until the icing is smooth. Drizzle over completely cooled cake.

*should be enough icing for 1 Applesauce Raisin Cake

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Happy Valentines Day Brownies – Chocolatey and Fudgey

Posted on February 10, 2012 | 1 comment

 

This is a delicious easy to make Chocolate Fudgy Brownie. Perfect for Valentines Day , as it is such a Chocolatey Holiday. I have always had a  rather large sweet tooth and  Valentines Day always meant candy, chocolate, dessert of one kind or another and it was always up there with my other favorite , Halloween for pretty much the same reasons. How can you not like a holiday that has so much sweetness?  Make this brownie  anytime and  top with ice cream and chocolate sauce for an incredibly killer dessert. I personally cut them up into small pieces and don’t feel as guilty when I eat them. I came in today from being out all day and saw them on the cake stand and because I had cut them up so small, I indulged in two pieces and it just hit the spot!!! Make no mistake these are the real deal, and I never really understand why anyone would use a mix when this is so easy and all the ingredients are so readily available.  And you have bragging rights for Homemade. Just make sure you use an 8 x 8 baking dish, this really does make a difference. Enjoy and Happy V-Day!!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped ( when you buy the box, the chocolate comes in squares, each square is an ounce)

1/8 tsp. salt (regular table salt)

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup Cake flour (make sure you use Cake Flour not regular Flour)

1 cup semi- sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts ( I used chopped pecans , but chopped walnuts are good as well)

*extra unsalted butter for greasing the pan, I admit to using butter but you can spray with baking spray. (Pam)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking dish with unsalted butter ( or spray with Baking Pam)  In a saucepan melt the stick of butter and then when it is melted add the chopped unsweetened chocolate on low heat. Stir often until all the chocolate has been melted. Add the sugar in and let cool for at least 10 minutes.  Once it has sufficiently cooled off , take out another bowl and add beaten eggs and vanilla, and mix well and stir in chocolate mixture. Blend in cake flour ,salt and mix, do not  over mix, just mix till blended. Then add in chocolate chips, and nuts if you’re using them.

Pour batter into greased baking dish and spread evenly. Tap the pan on countertop to get rid of any air bubbles, about 3 or 4 times ought to do it.

Bake the Brownies for 30 minutes ( it’s exactly how long I did)  insert a cake tester or toothpick and it should come out almost clean. Be careful not to over bake.

Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing into squares.

I actually took out of oven and let it sit out covered almost all day, so by the time I cut into them they were completely cool. I used a knife and wet it, so it would cut cleanly.

So yummy!:) Served with an ice cold glass of milk, perfection.

Also can sprinkle a little sifted confectioners sugar on top of cooled brownies before serving if you’d like.

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Mushroom Barley Soup (can be vegetarian)

Posted on February 9, 2012 | 1 comment

I have the funniest story about me and this soup. The first time I made it, I received the recipe from a friend. I didn’t see that it said .5 lbs. of mushrooms and I thought it was 5 lbs! So you can only imagine how much chopping I was doing. I had never seen a recipe say .5 instead of 1/2 lb! Joel happened to be in the kitchen and he kept saying that is an awful lot of mushrooms, and until I looked at it carefully I hadn’t seen that it said .5 . Who writes .5 ? Well, we had enough mushroom barley soup for the whole winter and then some–it expanded to a huge amount, and I had to keep adding liquid, it was hysterical. Once I realized what I had done, I had a good laugh, but the soup was still pretty tasty. I will write it it the way it should be and I doubt you’ll be making that same mistake any time soon. This is a very tasty , deeply robust soup, very healthy rendition of Mushroom Barley Soup. (and I always wear my reading glasses when I read a recipe now because you never know when you really need to see the difference between .5 and 5! )

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup dried mushrooms, like porcini

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

12 medium carrots, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 lb. of white mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/2 lb. of shitake, cremini, portabello or other mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/2 lb. of whole barley( I had to use pearl barley because that’s what I had in house, it’s fine) I just used 1/2 a bag. Don’t worry over exact measurements here, just eyeball it. If you have a scale, you can measre it exactly, I just halved the bag.

6 cups of beef broth (vegetarians can use vegetable broth)  and you will need the other 2 cups in the box if you are using boxed broth. You will need 8 cups total, just start out with 6.

3 tablespoons sherry

* 1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar – I like this and add it before I serve it. It’s no biggie if you don’t want to use or don’t have it.

Directions:

Cover dried mushrooms with 1 cup of  hot water and set aside for 20 minutes. Reserve the liquid and finely chop mushrooms.

Heat oil in heavy bottom pot (Le Creuset).

Saute onions and carrots over medium heat until onions begin to turn golden and transparent. Add garlic and saute for a minute. I always throw a bit of kosher salt and pepper in while veggies saute. Just a bit, you’ll taste for Salt and Pepper later.

Add fresh mushrooms(dried ones as well)  and saute for about 5 minutes until mushrooms release their water. Raise the heat and add the barley. Saute until barley begins to color. Add broth and sherry. Add mushroom soaking liquid to pot. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Soup will start to naturally thicken as barley plumps up, if you need to add more liquid either water or broth will be just fine.  Simmer for about an hour, you will probably need more liquid, I always add the other 2 cups of broth, and I add water then if it is still too thick, play it by ear. I also add additional Salt and Pepper at this point, you will have to adjust to your own personal taste.  Add vinegar right before serving, if you are using it.  Serve with nice crusty bread! Enjoy!

This makes for a delightful lunch meal with a salad and bread. I also make this in the morning , put whole pot in fridge ( once it cools down) and right before dinner heat it up. This gives flavors time to meld together, and then if you need to add more liquid  you will add water since you’ve already added the additional 2 cups of broth. Freezes up beautifully, and exactly what I will do, because whole family will be coming to visit at the end of week, Yeah!!!! 🙂 🙂

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip – Game Day Dip

Posted on February 4, 2012 | 1 comment

Game Day is finally here, it’s one day away. If you’re looking for a delicious dip , this is it. This recipe belongs to my daughter Jenn, she always makes it and it is always delicious. It goes perfectly with any kind of chip , or you can toast pita bread and cut into triangles. I know it’s fattening, but what the hell ? Superbowl comes but once a year right? This is a Super Snack, and if you like you can use Lite Mayo and Lite Sour Cream, just not fat free, it won’t work out well at all. This is just a great dip to make anytime of the year, and ingredients are super easy to obtain. Just make sure you squeeze out the excess water from the spinach.

Ingredients:

1 box or bag of frozen chopped spinach * (defrosted)  drained and squeezed out of all liquid, this is the most important thing here is to get the spinach as dry as possible.

1 Can Artichokes drained and coarsley chopped ( if you can buy them quartered already do so)

1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise ( Lite is fine)

3/4 cup Sour Cream ( Lite is fine)

3/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (not grated)

* In order to get spinach as dry as possible, I put it in colander to defrost, or leave it out for a few hours. I then literally squeeze it out to get all the liquid out of it, you don’t want it wet, the liquid will ruin the dip. So first defrost, then drain it, then wring it out with your clean hands.

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients and put in a nice oven proof dish that you’ll want to serve it in and bake at 350 degrees till brown and bubbly , about 30 – 35 minutes.

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