Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

With December well underway, ‘tis the season for holiday get togethers and with it, the holiday food.  Here’s a recipe for a dip that comes together easily, and the best part—real ingredients that you can pronounce.  If I’m about one thing when it comes to food and nutrition, it’s that I prefer my food real, with recognizable ingredients, as close to their whole form as possible.  This recipe fits the bill pretty closely.  Thanks to allrecipes.com for this recipe:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained ( I usually just use fresh chopped spinach, and eyeball it—usually more than ½ cup makes it into the dip when I make it)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.  Serve with pita or corn chips, or as is, with a spoon ;)

One of the reasons I like this dip, aside from the fact that it’s ridiculously good, is the use of spinach.  Greens are a good thing, especially for their calcium content, but what I really like is the fact that the spinach in this recipe gets cooked. What?! Yep, I like my spinach cooked.  There’s a compound in spinach called oxalic acid that binds to the calcium, making it hard for us to absorb.  Unless you lightly cook it, then the oxalic acid gets neutralized, and you get to reap the benefits of the calcium and other goodies.  One of these days, I’ll have to let you in on my green smoothie methods that make use of cooked spinach.  Stay tuned for another crazy good dip coming soon!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways