Artichoke Dip -- a healthy version!

Picture from Google. 

As I was thinking of a menu for the Super Bowl this Sunday, what sounds better than lots of fun finger foods?! So we'll be having potato skins, taquitos, chips and salsa, Bagel Bites, sausage and cheese tray, (all for my husband), shrimp cocktail, olives, meatballs, pomegranate sausage bits, and this Artichoke Dip with Stacy's Pita Chips. Artichoke Dip is the WORST option you could have as an appetizer because most recipes begin with Mayo and cream cheese and end with the veg. It should be backwards. Which, once again, is why I love the Eat This, Not That books! In the 2010 version they have included the following recipe, which I will be making this Sunday! 

Ingredients:

1 12oz jar artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped (they recommend Cento brand)

1 16oz box chopped frozen spinach, thawed (Cascadian Farm Organic)

2TBS olive oil based mayo 

1/2TBS butter

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small can roasted green chiles, drained and chopped

2TBS whipped light cream cheese

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

Whole wheat pitas -- optional

Instructions:

Optional -- Cut pitas into 6-8 wedges and separate the layers. Spread on 2 baking sheets and bake at 400 for 5 minutes. 

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add artichokes, spinach, chiles, mayo, cream cheese and lemon juice. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Serves 4.

Easter menu

I feel like such a slacker. I have been meaning to post this for a week now... so please forgive me for not getting it up in time. I realize Easter was LAST weekend and it may be pointless to even post this now... but it was so delicious, it deserves to be up.
I had never cooked a ham before, but it didn't seem that hard (and it's not). You don't even need a recipe, the little card attached to it will tell you exactly how to cook it. But I wanted mine to be EXTRA special. Start off by finding a decent 10lb-ish spiral sliced ham. Mine was from the Springfield brand. Highly recommended, and not overly-priced like some of those "Honey" brands. I will also list the recipe for "funeral potatoes take 2" and a super yummy dessert salad.

For the ham:

1 (10lb) fully-cooked spiral cut ham
2/3C brown sugar
1/3C apricot jam
1 tsp dry mustard powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Place ham cut side down on sheet of foil that has been placed on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix together the sugar, jam and mustard in a small bowl (here I added half the bag of glaze from the ham). Brush onto ham using a pastry brush. Reserve any leftover glaze. Enclose the foil around the ham.
3. Roast for 2 hours, or 14 minutes per pound if your ham is a different size. Apply the remaining glaze 20 minutes before the ham is done.

Note: if making funeral pots, start them when you add the final glaze and they will be ready for the oven when you pull the ham out.

Funeral Potatoes - take 2

Ingredients:

1 large bag frozen hash browns
1/2C butter, plus extra for buttering dish
1 can cream soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2C chopped onion
2 C shredded cheese (I like to add about an extra cup)
1C smashed corn flakes
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the soup, sour cream, and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add onions.
Butter a 13x9 baking dish and add the potatoes. Pour cheese mixture over and combine well. Cover with corn flakes. Bake for 45 minutes.


Apple Dessert Salad

Ingredients:

1C shredded coconut
1C mini marshmallows
1C pineapple tidbits
1C mandarin oranges
1C cored, diced apples
1C sour cream

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients well and allow to chill at least an hour.

Iron Chef - my way

Secret Ingredient: Ground Italian Sausage - mild.
The Meals: Butternut Squash with Stove Top/Sausage and Biscuits and Gravy.


(My husband doesn't eat squash OR stove top and it's one of my favorite meals in the fall/winter so I needed a solution for last Friday's dinner. Since I knew I would only need a little bit of cooked sausage for my Squash, I searched for a good sausage meal to make for him. It was a little hectic trying to get 2 completely different meals cooked at the same time... but I did it and they were both delicious!! )

Butternut Squash with Stuffing and Sausage

Ingredients:

1 Butternut squash
1 box of Stove Top Stuffing
1/2lb. Italian Sausage
Shredded cheese
2TBS. butter/margarine
Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Cut squash in half lengthwise and spoon out seeds. Cut each half in half and place cut side down in large baking dish. Pour a little water in the bottom of your pan. Bake for 30-55min. until a fork can easily be inserted.
2. Meanwhile, brown sausage and prepare stove top. Combine and set aside.
3. Take squash out of oven and allow to cool a few minutes. Drain water from pan and turn squash quarters over so flesh side is up.
4. Sprinkle each quarter with a little salt and pepper and rub a little butter over each. Spoon stuffing mixture onto each and sprinkle cheese on top.
5. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden.
Enjoy!!


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Biscuits and Gravy

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Biscuits
3/4lbs. sausage (the fattier, the better)
4C milk
4-8 TBS flour

Instructions:

Prepare biscuits as instructed on package. Brown sausage in skillet. As soon as sausage is completely brown, turn to medium heat. Add flour by the tablespoon, stirring constantly. Let the flour BROWN before adding another tablespoon (if you don't, your gravy will taste like flour). After you have added enough flour to make the gravy as thick as you like, whisk in the milk. It will thicken as it cools.

Funeral Potatoes w/ Ham

Is it raining where you are? What's better than a nice plate of comfort food on a day like today? Today's recipe is the epitome of comfort food. It's got potatoes, cream, cheese, cereal, and ham. Yum. My mom gave me the recipe over the phone, so really... nothing's measured. But in her genius words, "Throw it in, and hope for the best!" Love her.

Funeral Potatoes with Ham

Ingredients:

8-12 md. peeled and sliced potatoes
2 sm. onions (or 1 lg) diced
Diced Ham (whatever you may have left over from a previous meal)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
about 1 C Sour Cream
about 1 C milk
about 2TBS dill *optional
about 2TBS dried chives *optional
about 2 C grated cheese
about 2 C corn flakes

Instructions:

Basically, throw in first 7 (9 if you're using the herbs) ingredients in a casserole dish, top with cheese and corn flakes and bake for about 45-65min at 350, until potatoes are soft.


Super easy, and a great pot luck item! If you're LDS, like me, you've had these very potatoes at many funerals/missionary homecomings/farewells! Perfect.