Baked Spinach Dip

Baked Spinach dip... this is a spin off of Kerri's Spinach Dip recipe. I've made it three times so far, and every time Lee and I like it even more.

Here's how I made it:

Ingredients 
1 bag (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach

1 pkg. dry vegetable soup mix (without noodles)

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream (you'll probably want a 16 oz container of sour cream, but you'll only need half of it)
1 packet ranch mix 
*1 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, pepper jack, whichever you prefer) 
Several sprinkles of shredded parmesan

**Optional: 1 6.5 oz jar artichoke hearts. See below.

Dump your spinach in a microwave bowl. Micro on high 4 minutes, stirring and breaking up chunks after half the time.  

Don't drain water from defrosted Spinach. Stir in veggie soup mix, until vegetables are re-hydrated.

Place cream cheese in small, microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute at 50%  power to soften.  Mix in with Spinach and soup mix.

If you have 16 oz sour cream, mix in your entire ranch packet w the sour cream and stir it up. If you have only 8 oz. sour cream, then just use half of your ranch packet. Put 8oz of your mixed ranch dip in with your spinach, veggie soup mix, and cream cheese. Mix everything together well.

Stir in half of your shredded mozzarella cheese. Set the other half of your shredded cheese aside. Sprinkle some parmesan into your mix as well. *The first time I made this, I had this awesome cheese from Sam's club, and that cheese was the main reason I wanted to make a hot Spinach Dip.  Since then, I've made this dip with an Italian blend cheese and it was still great. If you want your dip to have a little kick, you could even use pepper jack. The options are endless.

This is the cheese I bought from Sam's club which inspired me to whip up a hot spin dip recipe, and my handsome cheese model who helped me grate it all up. The name of the cheese was Spinach Artichoke Jack.

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with Pam and dread in your mixture evenly. Bake for about 30 min total, but take your dip out of the oven about halfway through and stir it up. Stirring while it's warm will help break up some Of the cream cheese chunks. Then sprinkle the other half of your cheese across the top. Feel free to add more cheese if you want your dip to be more gooey. If you're a garlic lover like me, you can even sprinkle a little garlic salt on top. I have a garlic sea salt grinder that I pretty much put on top of everything. Finish baking your dip, and then serve warm with tortilla chips.

We've eaten this dip with tortilla chips, pretzel crisps, and celery sticks. All were great, but tortilla chips is my fav way to scoop it out. 

**The very first time I made this dip, I had this jar of artichokes that I drained, chopped up, and stirred into my dip before baking. The next two times I made the dip, I didn't have any artichokes, so I went without, and the dip was still great! I bought this little jar from The Fresh Market. 

Queso Spinach Dip

Queso Spinach Dip... My sister-in-law made this dip on the 4th of July and it was so yummy! I have tweaked it a bit to make it my own, and now I make it all the time. This week I am making it to take to work for food day. Here's how I make it:

Ingredients 

1 block Velveeta (2lb.)

1- 8 oz. block cream cheese
1/2 cup milk (add more or less depending how thick you like your dip)

1- 16 oz. jar salsa, choose the brand and heat level that you like 

1- 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach (If I can't find a 10 oz. box, I have bought the 1 lb. bag before and just used about half. A few more or less oz. of spinach won't make or break your dip.)

Start by cutting your Velveeta into chunks and put them in the Crock Pot. Do the same for your cream cheese. Dump your salsa and milk on top of your chunked cheeses. Take the paper wrapping off of your frozen spinach, but leave it in the cardboard box. Place the box of spinach on a plate and microwave for 2 minutes. Flip the box over and microwave for 2 more minutes. Next you need to drain your spinach. To do so, take the box out of the microwave and squeeze it over a sink to get all of the excess water out. (You may need to wait a minute or 2 to do this if your box is hot like mine normally is.) Once your spinach is drained, add it to your Crock Pot. Let your mixture cook on low for about an hour, stirring occasionally. After an hour, mix ingredients thoroughly and turn your heat setting to warm. If you leave your dip in the Crock Pot for several hours, it may thicken up. Add milk as needed to get to your preferred consistency. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!  

Pizza Dip

Pizza dip... this one is always a crowd favorite. Almost every time my family gets together, someone  requests that I make this. I like this dip because it is usually something that everyone likes, even the picky eaters.  Here's how I make it:

Ingredients

1 lb. Italian sausage (I have used both sweet and hot in the past- both are good!)

5 slices bacon

1 cup chopped pepperoni (about half of the normal 8 oz. bag)

36 oz. pizza sauce or marinara sauce

1 cup shredded Italian cheese (mozzarella or any Italian blend, but it should be something other than Parmesan)

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. sour cream

1-8 oz. container of grated Parmesan cheese (2 cups) 

1 heaping tablespoon of pesto

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

water if dip is too thick (optional)

Start by cooking your Italian sausage and drain any grease. Dump the cooked sausage into your slow cooker. 

Next, fry up your bacon, remove it from the grease and chop it up. Dump it into your slow cooker as well. 

Starting with the marinara sauce, put the rest of your ingredients in the slow cooker one by one and mix them all up.  If your dip is a little thicker than you'd like, its okay to add a little bit of water. I usually put about 2 tablespoons of water in each of my marinara sauce jars and shake them up to get any excess sauce off the jar and dump all of that into my Crock Pot. 

Keep your slow cooker on low for about 2 hours, or until the cream cheese melts and the dip mixes together evenly. After that, change your heat setting to warm. 

This dip is hearty and filling, and so so good! You can mix and match it with other meats, or even add your favorite veggies. 

My favorite thing to serve Pizza Dip with is garlic bread, but it is also great with bagel chips or crackers. Enjoy! 

Kerri's Spinach Dip

This recipe came from my sweet Kansas friend, Kerri. When Lee and I lived in Kansas right after college, Kerri and I worked together, and she would always bring this amazing spin dip for our food days, and lucky for me, she shared the recipe! I like making this recipe when I am hosting a party, because it can be made a day or two in advance, and will be ready to go the day of the party! Here's how I make it:

Kerri's Spin Dip Ingredients

2 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach

1 pkg. dry vegetable soup mix (without noodles)

1/2 c. water

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 c. (8 oz.) chive dip (this is basically just sour cream w/chives, and is found in the dairy section next to the sour cream)

5-6 drops hot sauce 

To defrost spinach, place packages in microwave.  Micro on High 4 minutes, turning pkgs over after half the time.  Let stand 5 min.  Drain thoroughly.  Set aside.

Place soup mix & water in small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Micro on High 1 minute.  Let stand, covered, until vegetables are re-hydrated.

Place cream cheese in large bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute at 50%  power to soften.  Mix in re-hydrated soup mix, drained spinach, sour cream and hot sauce.

I like this dip best with Wheat Thins, but it is also good with tortilla chips, French bread cubes, and carrot or celery sticks.

I think this dip is actually a lot better when it is made 24+ hours prior to when you're going to eat it. At first when you mix it up, the spinach can be a little bit slimey, but after about a day, the texture improves, and flavors mix together better. I always make this at least a whole day in advance and let it sit covered in the fridge until I'm ready to serve it. Once you get the dip out to serve, you may want to mix it up with a fork to break up any cream cheese chunks.

Given the color of the dip, this is one of the items I'm taking to my family's annual St. Patty's Day party! Since the party is early Saturday afternoon, I made this dip early Friday morning and had it ready to go for Saturday!