Low Fat, No Mayo, Spinach and Artichoke Dip - Get Ready for the Superbowl

 

Spinach and artichoke dip (or crab and artichoke dip) is a guilty pleasure of ours. If it's brought out at a party that we're at, act fast because we'll be secretly gobbling it up. If it's on the menu at a bar, notice how one of us will subtly suggest it gets ordered. It's just so delicious - cheesy, creamy, goodness, and since there's veggies in it, one can argue that it's healthy, right?

Fresh spinach makes all the differences

With the Superbowl only a few weeks away, we figured it'd be time to test out a recipe to call our own. Neither of us are really fans of the idea that our beloved snack is filled with a heaping glob of mayo, so we did a recipe without it. And since we wanted ours to be super flavorful and fresh, we opted for fresh spinach. The result? Better than anything we'd ordered at a restaurant before. Don't believe us? Throw this together and see for yourself!

Chopped artichoke hearts

Making the Dish
What you'll need
1 clamshell container of fresh baby spinach
2, 15 oz cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 block colby jack cheese
4 oz cream cheese (we used the low fat kind, with no regrets)
7 oz sour cream (we used the low fat kind, with no regrets)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Sautéing the spinach and garlic

1. Preheat your oven to 375. Chop up the spinach into small pieces, and mince up the garlic. In a non stick pan over medium heat, heat up the olive oil, and then sauté the spinach and garlic until the spinach has wilted - just a few minutes.

2. Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, and monterey jack cheese into a mixing bowl. Add in the spinach and garlic.

3. Chop up the artichoke hearts until they're nice and small, to about the size you'd want to eat. Add it to the mixing bowl with the spinach and cheeses

4. Add in your seasonings - paprika, cayenne, coriander, salt, and pepper. Then, stir like crazy until everything is combined.

5. Place the mixture into a baking dish and top with extra colby jack cheese if desired. Then place the baking dish into the oven and let bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until the cheese is browned on the top.















The Result
Dig into this with crackers, bread, whatever you'd like. Be careful at first because it's hot. It will be hard to slow down because it's so good. The spices and the garlic are a nice addition and make up for the fact that there's no mayo. And with low fat cream cheese and sour cream, it's hard to feel guilty eating this.

What're your superbowl plans? Anything exciting on your list of party appetizers? We've got another party snack for you next week, so subscribe or follow us on twitter so you don't miss it.

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