Food In Many Forms

Look Familiar? I last posted about this recipe in March 2010. This Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe from Juan Carlos Cruz has served me well over the past few years, so it is too bad that they took down the recipe from the Food Network website. Luckily, one of my fellow bloggers shared her version of the recipe, and I tend to agree with most of her revisions. Thanks, "Tiny Kitchen Cooking" .  Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe courtesy Juan-Carlos Cruz & the Food Network Ingredients: 1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed 1 cup light sour cream 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, plus more as needed 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained Carrot sticks, celery sticks or baked tortilla strips, for serving Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Squeeze all excess liquid ...

So, I know I've talked about Ellie Krieger in the past, but I'm not sure I've ever actually made one of her recipes. She is the only Chef on the Food Network that is also a Registered Dietitian, and you know I am in support of that! This past Cinco de Mayo, I finally decided to make one of her recipes - a five-layer Mexican dip. It disappeared in the first twenty minutes of the party, and it was pretty easy to make. The only time-consuming part of the recipe was chopping up the veggies, but it was worth it! And the best part about Ellie's recipes? She does the nutritional analysis for me :) Ingredients 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo 4 tablespoons lime juice 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon water 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups corn kernels (10-ounce box frozen corn) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves...

Friday was Spinach Artichoke dip day and it was way delicious! I noticed that almost all the ingredient measures are based on the commercially available size, not what actually produces the best taste. Why is 1 8 oz tub of cream cheese the correct amount? Why not 6 oz or 7 oz? I will have to experiment with less cheese and see if it tastes the same. The one alteration I did make is use half the sour cream and it didn't seem to make much difference! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

My absolute favorite College Park bar food is the Spinach Artichoke dip from Santa Fe Cafe . It comes out of the back piping hot and still bubbling, very green but also very cheesy and you cannot taste any one flavor or tell how they make such a wonderful creation. The pita gets gobbled up quickly and then only the salty tortilla chips are left... maybe I am the only one who notices but the fatty, cheesiness of the dip with the salty chips is just a little too much.  Flashback to last Tuesday...perusing the aisles of my favorite Bethesda grocery store and I see a can of artichoke hearts calling my name. My phone is dead and I have no idea what is in spinach artichoke dip but I know that I have to make it.  Flashforward to this morning...I go to the convenience store, recipe in hand, and am so grateful they actually have sour cream, hot sauce, whole wheat pita and shredded mozzarella. If only they had a beautiful plate for me to serve it on: When my food looks li...