Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Best Spinach Dip Ever!
When someone says “spinach dip” it always brings back one of the funniest and cute memories of when my husband and I had been dating for about a year or two. Not being huge fans of Valentine’s Day, our friends had a get together and did a fondue and wine party. At least we felt like we were doing something but it was more of a fun party than a mushy, romantic holiday. Ugh…Valentine’s Day. I will write more about that another day. I am not a fan.
After we ate dinner, the hosts had put together a fun couple’s game sort of reminiscent of the “Newlywed Game”. One of the questions that were asked to the guys in the room was “If you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be?” I cannot recall what the answers are now, but they were what you would expect. I am pretty sure that there were some spats in the car on the way home and some wives on legalzoom.com that evening.
Well, we get to my husband and I and I think that I guessed that he wished I wasn’t so perky all of the time or something like that but that was not his answer. If he could change anything about me it would be that I liked spinach dip. The room erupted with laughter. Not only was it funny, it was much sweeter than all of the other answers. The group asked him to explain and he said that when we go to restaurants, he couldn’t order his favorite appetizer because I do not like it and he wished he could order it. He was completely serious too. It just confirmed why I loved this guy so much.
See, I never like spinach dip because I hate onions and every spinach dip I have ever seen has oodles of onions. My disdain for onions was now impacting my relationship. Oh no! Well, since I had the sweetest guy in the room, I was on a mission! How could I make yummy spinach dip taste good but have only ingredients that I like? It was a challenge but I think I came up with the most satisfyingly ooey gooey spinach dip ever!
Some really important things to remember about this dish is to make sure that your frozen spinach is thawed thoroughly as well as all water is drained and squeezed out. I generally do this with a couple of paper towels over the sink and set aside to dry out a little more. Meanwhile, you can start mixing all of your ingredients. Make sure to take out your cream cheese a little before making this dip so that is becomes room temperature. If you cannot wait, put it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. Make sure to take it out of the foil wrapper first. Then start mixing it with the sour cream. I use non-fat sour cream and low fat cream cheese for this dish. I know it seems pointless when we are making a cheese dip but if I can save fat and calories and it tastes exactly the same, I do it!
Now add in all of the different cheeses and spices. Mix together and it becomes the consistently of a cookie dough. Place spinach cheese ball in a small baking dish. I use my little Le Creuset dish. It just works so perfectly for dips! Make sure to press the dip so that it fits evenly into the dish. Now it is ready to bake! I usually bake it for about 20 minutes but it may need a little more time depending on your oven. Make sure that it is slightly cool before you dive in. This dip is very hot! I usually save some of the grated cheese so I can sprinkle it on top when it is finished baking to make it look pretty. Now I dare you not to eat it all. It is that good! I made this for New Year’s Eve one time and my guests could not stop eating it. Please your pickiest eaters with this one. If you are having a lot of guests, please feel free to double the recipe. You may need to adjust the baking time but it should be fine if you are using the same depth of dish.
Now it is safe to say that my husband wouldn’t choose to change anything about me because not only does he get to eat his favorite appetizer, spinach dip, he gets to eat the best spinach dip ever in the history of the world. Win for me!!
½ box (4 oz) Frozen Spinach, thawed and excess water completely squeezed out
½ cup Sour cream
4 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
½ tsp Garlic, minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup Monterey jack cheese, freshly grated from block
½ cup Cheddar cheese, freshly grated from block
¼ tsp Onion powder
Pinch of salt and pepper
Tortilla chips for dipping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium to large mixing bowl mix all ingredients. Spray a 4 x 6 casserole dish with cooking spray. Transfer mixed spinach dip ingredients to dish. Even out dip with your spoon. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Dip will be super hot so make sure it is cool enough to eat. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!