Light Spinach Artichoke Dip

Time to throw away that tired old spinach artichoke dip recipe, and spruce it up with this revamped dip. By making a few swap outs, this recipe is much healthier without losing any of the FLAVOR. My husband was so surprised when I told him that I changed it up after he tried it (I’m so sneaky). I actually surprised myself when I created this recipe (trust me you will be amazed after the first bite). Such a delicious dip without any of the guilt…count me in!

2  14 oz. Cans of Artichokes

1  10 oz Bag of Fresh Spinach

1  15 oz. Container of Ricotta Cheese

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

2 Tbs Canola Oil

1/2 Tbs Nutmeg

2 Tbs Garlic Powder

1/2 Tbs Cayenne (optional)

1/2 Tbs Salt

Preheat the oven to 365°. I love using fresh greens so I use fresh spinach, but you can use frozen if you’d prefer. Add the canola oil to a large skillet and add the fresh spinach. If your skillet is not big enough, just add a little at a time. It will look like a lot, but it will all wilt down (it’s so crazy how you start with a big bag of spinach and it cooks down to about a cup, I guess that is the magic of it). Add the nutmeg and half of the garlic powder. The nutmeg is a perfect seasoning to add to greens. It really enhances their FLAVOR! Add more oil as needed. Once they have finished cooking put aside.

Drain the artichokes into a strainer and rinse them with water (this will rinse off the salty brine that they are packed with). Squeeze out the water of each artichoke and place on your cutting board. Cut the artichokes into a rough chop (watch those fingers!)

Time to put it all together (here is where we add the secret ingredients 😉 ). In a large bowl combine the artichokes, ricotta cheese, and Greek yogurt. Mix together, then add in the rest of the seasoning along with the spinach mixture and half of the mozzarella.  Spread into a greased casserole dish and top with the remaining  mozzarella cheese. Cook for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Serve once it has cooled for 5-10 minutes. This dip goes great with tortilla chips, crackers, or pita chips.

Try out his recipe for your family or at your next dinner party, then you can tell them how healthy it really is, or you can keep it our little secret (don’t worry, I won’t tell 😉 ).

Happy Flavoring!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

 

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was such a big hit. I may have to make it again during the holidays. This is definitely my husbands favorite dessert, okay its mine too! What a great way to spend Thanksgiving… family, turkey, pie, sides, pie (oh did I mention the pie already 😉 ).

2 (8 ounce) Packages of Light Cream Cheese

1 Prepared Graham Cracker Crust

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Vanilla Bean (or 1/2 Tbs Vanilla Extract)

1/2 Cup Pumpkin Purée

2 Eggs

1 Tbs Cinnamon

1/2 Tbs Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325°. Combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla bean into a mixing bowl and blend until smooth. (This would be a good time to sneak a taste before the eggs go in…you know you want to, no one is looking!) Now add the eggs in one at a time. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and spread into the bottom of the pie crust.

Add the pumpkin purée, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the bowl with the rest of the mixture. This will give it so much added FLAVOR! Stir until well mixed. Spread on top of the batter in the crust. Bake for 40 minutes or until middle is set. Allow to cool and store in fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight. This is a perfect make ahead dessert to prepare the day before Thanksgiving, that is if you can trust yourself not to eat it until after your Thanksgiving meal!

Serve and enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving…now that we’ve had dessert, its nap time!

Happy Flavoring!

Happy napping Milo and Lola (my babies)! 🙂

Cornbread Stuffing

Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, you’ll definitely call it delicious! This recipe is fool proof and goes perfectly with Thanksgiving turkey. Maybe it will even upstage that turkey, it is definitely my favorite part of Thanksgiving (I’d much rather stuff my belly with it instead of the bird 😉 ).

12 Cornbread Muffins

3 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1/2 Cup Onion

1 Cup Celery

2 Eggs

1 tsp Salt

4 Tbs Italian Seasoning

1 Tbs Canola Oil

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, crumble the cornbread into pieces. I love cornbread and it’s the perfect texture for stuffing. I like to cook the cornbread the day before to let them dry out a little. Pour in the chicken stock and let the cornbread soak (how easy, it’s instant FLAVOR). In the meantime, chop the onion and celery and cook with the oil over medium heat with 1 tbs of the Italian seasoning until softened (about 4-5 minutes). (Oh that smell gets me every time, now it smells like Thanksgiving…let the parade begin…yay I think I just saw Snoopy). Add the onions and celery to the cornbread mixture.  Fold in the eggs and add the rest of the seasoning. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Let cool and serve. What a great side to show off next to that gorgeous turkey (It may even distract everyone from that football game…give it a try) . Happy Thanksgiving and…

Happy Flavoring!