No Fuss Spinach Dip

Do you know my favorite part of pizza night? Well besides getting to eat pizza, it's also being able to eat all those junk food extras like buffalo wings, cheesy garlic bread, mozzarella sticks or, in our case, spinach dip. I love having sides with pizza because if you're going to indulge in pizza, possibly the best food ever, then you might as well go all out, right? And I have a great fondness spinach dip so when all we had in our freezer was a frozen pizza (reserved for nights when we both get off work late and don't have time to cook - please don't judge me, we're in college and they're delicious) then I knew that was my chance to add something fun on the side. To me a frozen pizza is like a blank canvas in that you can add your own snacks and sides or toppings in a quarter of the time to get something really cool and totally custom made.

Like I said our pizza was for after work so before work I decided to get some kind of side ready so we could come home and eat. I started craving spinach dip, unfortunately I didn't have the things I usually use like water chestnuts or leek soup mix so I had to improvise. And because I came up with this idea last minute I was determined to not have to go out and buy anything for this dip. The end result is a great throw-together dip with things you already have in your kitchen, and the best part is that it tastes so good no one will ever know!

What You'll Need: 

1 package of froze spinach

1/2 of a small onion

1 small red pepper

1/2 cup of mayo

1/2 cup of sour cream

2 Tblsp of garlic powder

3 Tblsp of Parmesan cheese

sourdough bread for dipping

What To Do:

1. Thaw out a 9 oz. package of frozen spinach. If you have the microwave kind, great. If not I usually put the frozen block in about a half-inch of simmering water and let it thaw out.

*If you're using this method, then use a fork to break up the chunks being careful not to scrape your pot. It breaks my heart just thinking about it :(

2. Once the spinach is drained give it a rough chop to make sure that it's not stringy or that the leaves aren't too big (no one wants a giant string of spinach). Also, mince up half of a small onion and the pepper.

3. Mix the spinach, onion, and pepper in a medium bowl.

4. Add the mayo, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder to the spinach mix.

5. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, cover with plastic wrap (making sure the plastic is touching the dip) and place in the fridge for at least an hour - but more is preferred.

6.  Cut sourdough bread into bite-size chunks and enjoy!

Spreads & Other Snacks for "Grown Ups"

I dedicate this post to World Market and my fellow foodies who go shopping when they're hungry. There's no denying it, and I applaud you for it because this is when I find some of my favorite snacks. Mike and I went to World Market today to look around and came out with some great stuff - including a much needed lamp shade. But food-wise we scored some new snacks too. We ended up with some Scottish strawberry champagne preserve, Cafe Du Monde beignet mix, two plates, and a little dipping dish - all for just over $26! We decided to wait on the beignets (as hard as it was) and picked up a baguette to try the preserves instead.

I was really excited to try this because the cashier lady said it was one of her favorites. Really, at that point I was so hungry I would have tried it regardless. 

My new little dish :)

I washed some grapes I had in the fridge and decided to see what else we could snack on. I had some dried cranberries leftover from my Cranberry Orange Scones so I took them out too. All we had to buy was a "rustic sweet baguette" loaf. It must have been destiny (or at least luck) because we got the last fresh loaf.

We sat down on the couch (turned on the television) and got ready to try our little snack feast. The preserves were so delicious but they were definitely on the sweet side. We needed something to cut down on the sweetness so I brought out some brie (the Laughing Cow brand) that I had in my fridge. I put some cheese on a piece of bread then some preserves - foodie heaven, let me tell you!! The brie made it really creamy. I absolutely love strawberry jam and this one is definitely a keeper. It had a slightly stronger taste and a more intense flavor. I loved it!

     

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Oh, here's a little extra info about the difference between jelly, jam, and preserves - for anyone, like me, who didn't know until today. According to TLC Cooking,

• In jelly the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice
• In jam the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit
• In preserves the fruit comes in the form of chunks

After snacking on this for a while we decided we wanted a more savory spread - but that's one thing I didn't have laying around in my fridge.... so we made a pesto butter. It was so simple to make. 

What You'll Need:

1/2 a stick of butter

3 tsp of pesto

salt and garlic powder to taste

Make sure the butter is room temp and mix your pesto in. Add your seasonings to taste. When it's how you want it, put in in the fridge for 10 minutes. We use this pesto for everything. I've mixed it into pastas and put it on chicken. I always have a jar of this in my fridge.

When the butter was chilled, we cut some more bread and sat back down. I have to say the mix between the savory pesto and the sweet preserves was unbelievable! All together it was an awesome snack that's so much better than your average bowl of chips. You could definitely serve these as snacks for guests or as a date night snack for a night in. Either way I love you enough to share this simple snack with you! Enjoy!

Chocolate Yogurt Dip

 Confession. I've been making this dip since I was a child. I found it in my first children's' cookbook when I was probably six. A few years ago I needed a fancy Valentine's Day dessert that could be done without taking too much time. Right away I thought back to this really easy dessert, and I've been making it ever since. All these years later, and having made it for Michael a few times now, he actually asks for it. Since my favorite dessert EVER is chocolate covered strawberries, and since recipe is just a variation of them, I enjoy making it.

The ingredients are really simple (you couldn't ask for an easier dessert)!

What You'll Need:

2 6 oz. containers of Strawberry yogurt

1 jar of Hot fudge topping

Strawberries (or your favorite fruit) for dipping

Mix both yogurt containers with 3/4 of the jar of fudge. Make sure the fudge is room temp so it mixes completely with the yogurt. I've never used any other kind of yogurt than strawberry but I absolutely love it. I imagine peach flavored yogurt would be pretty good too but I still like my strawberry.

I can pretty much eat this by the spoonful, and I'm not ashamed to admit it - it's delicious and look, it's done! You dip your strawberries right in the bowl or serve it up individually with a platter of fruit if you really want to get fancy about it. Either way it's all going to get eaten - trust me!