Creamy Spinach Dip

Alright folks - listen up: there is less than one month left until the Super Bowl!! Now, I am not really a huge football fan... I am more into the social aspects of the whole football thing, but the one thing I do know about football related events is my job at said events. My job when it comes to football and the Super Bowl is very important - I am the party planner, menu planner and chef extraordinaire!! So, my apologies to those of you who don't get caught up in the hype of the whole football thing, but leading up to the Super Bowl, there will likely be a lot of party dishes and appetizer ideas posted here... just sayin'!

But really, who can have enough appetizer recipes? I sure can't; I'm always bookmarking something for a later date or far off occasion. Sooo I'm sure you can put these recipes to good use regardless of whether you're into the Super Bowl hype or not.

I made this spinach dip for Christmas eve this year and it was a hit. I've made it many times and someone always asks for the recipe. So I'm going to share it with you! A little secret - its dead easy. So here we go:

Creamy Spinach Dip
Recipe minimally adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream (recipe calls for fat free, but I always use full fat)
• 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan, divided
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 1/2 cups mozza, sour cream, 2 tbsp parmesan, pepper, garlic, artichoke hearts, cream cheese and spinach. Mix until evenly blended. Turn mixture out into baking dish and level mixture into an even layer. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozza and 2 tbsp parmesan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve with fresh bread, crostini or tortilla chips for dipping. Consume while hot.

Mmmmmm.... lets all pause while we drool over this picture of creamy, spinach goodness!! This recipe originally called for using low fat everything - feel free to do that when you make it, but I never use low fat ingredients when I'm entertaining and this is no exception. In my experience, the full fat version ALWAYS tastes better!! But I do realize that some of us have resolutions to keep, so don't worry, I won't judge and your guests likely won't notice the subtle difference.

This post has been linked up with Jane Deere's Fusion Fridays Link Party! Stop by to check out what other creations my fellow bloggers have posted in Fusion Fridays. You won't be disappointed. :)

Happy Baking my Friends! Thanks for stopping by. :)