Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Is it kind of sad that one of my most favorite things about this time of year is all of the wonderful appetizers and the many excuses to eat them? Sad or not it is a reality. I LOVE APPETIZERS. I could likely eat them for every meal replacing any main entree.

Spinach Artichoke Dip is no longer trendy or "the it" appetizer. But it's still one of my favorites.One we rarely order at a restaurant anymore mostly because there are so many new choices we want to try instead. 

But this weekend we were watching Paula Deen with her son on the Food Network making a dip like this and it reminded us how good it is. So when I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up  a few things I also decided to pick up some fresh spinach and frozen artichokes to have on hand to throw this dip together when the craving hit. And of course that craving hit pretty quick. 

If you have all of the ingredients on hand it really isn't much effort to make.

We did a few tweaks to Paula's recipe using light mayo, adding some sliced water chestnuts, using frozen artichokes in place of the canned and lime in place of lemon zest. 

G was in heaven. The creamy dip was so full of artichoke and spinach you almost forget it's not the most healthy of treats. We served with both toasted baguette slices and pretzel chips. Mmmmmm...we really can't wait for the next excuse to make it. It really is that good. When is the last time you had Spinach Artichoke dip? 

Recipe:

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip ( adapted from Paula Deen)

8 cups fresh spinach

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lime, zest finely grated

2 (12-ounce) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and coarsely chopped

6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) Parmesan, freshly grated, divided

1/c cup chopped water chestnuts

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 tablespoon bottled habanero pepper sauce

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 1 1/2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside

Blanch spinach. Squeeze excess water.

In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, garlic and lime zest. Add artichoke hearts, 1-cup Parmesan, sour cream and pepper sauce. Mix. Place into prepared casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. The last 5 minutes add the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan to the top. Serve hot or cold along with chips or bread.