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Health(ier) Spinach Artichoke Dip

Today I bring you a healthier spinach artichoke dip that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating!

You know how everyone has that one signature dish? Okay, maybe some people I have more. But this is mine. I am requested to bring this to every family gathering.

The first time I had this spinach artichoke dip, I fell in love. I was at a party, put a small amount on my plate,and went to sit down. Then I tasted this dip. I’m pretty sure I stayed by the bowl of dip for the rest of the night and told everyone else that they should avoid the dip… And continued to devour it all by myself.

I’m not a huge spinach or artichoke fan, but together, in this dip? Perfection.

However, I often felt terrible about eating so much of this dip. The original recipe was filled with sour cream and mayo, which, while delicious, not good for you. So I tweaked a few of the ingredients and added yogurt as a replacement. You can’t even tell the difference and you won’t feel so bad about eating a gallon of it. 🙂

This dip is best served hot. So if it’s for an appetizer, you can easily heat it in the microwave and serve or if you are having a party, you can use one of those little dipper crock pots to keep it hot.

I like it best served with bread, however, I usually choose the easier route and serve it with chips. Those little multi grain scoops are my favorite.

 

Health(ier) Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

1 c thawed, chopped frozen spinach (I will usually do more, so if you like spinach, add extra)
1 can artichokes
8 oz cream cheese
½ c plain Greek yogurt
⅓ c grated Parmesan
½ tsp red pepper flakes (Do NOT skip this!)
¼ tsp garlic powder

Directions:

  • Drain artichokes and chop into smaller pieces.
  • Boil spinach and artichokes in water until tender and drain water.
  • Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 min or until soft and melted.
  • Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot.
  • Can be served with bread or chips/crackers.
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Easy Pickled Jalapenos

Currently I am about 6 months pregnant (26 weeks to be exact). I’ve had a really great pregnancy so far and have enjoyed being pregnant for the most part. Who doesn’t want to eat delicious foods all the time?!

Last week, I wanted guacamole. And by wanted, I mean, I NEEDED. There was one issue: I didn’t have any pickled jalapenos in the house! The guacamole I usually make includes a few chopped rings of pickled jalapeno and it really adds a ton of flavor that I NEEDED.

We were already headed out to Trader Joe’s to grab a coupe things, so I figured I would just pick up some pickled jalapenos there.

Then tragedy struck: Trader Joe’s (or at least my location) doesn’t carry them! What?! Oh, how you disappointed me, TJ’s.

So I thought to myself that there has to be an easy way to make them, right? I’ve made pickles before, how hard could it be? Turns out, not hard at all! I grabbed a bunch of jalapenos and gathered a few different recipes.

And it is SO easy! But here’s the thing, pickled things all need time to marry. Sad face. My guacamole didn’t come out quite as good as normal (but I still ate just about all of it… whoops) and now I have this delightful jar just brewing in my fridge for future use!

I’m not a huge spicy fan. I like jalapenos IN other foods, but straight up? No, thank you. So I did keep making my husband try them. The first few days they were still too crunchy and HOT. Even for my husband who has a very high tolerance for spicy foods. After about 7 days, they had become softer and really tasty! I would definitely recommend letting these sit for 7 to 10 days before they are ready.

The longer they sit, the better they get!

Pickled Jalepenos

Pickled Jalapenos

Ingredients:

¾ c water

¾ c white vinegar

3 tbl white sugar

1 tbl minced garlic

½ tsp oregano

8-10 jalapeno peppers, slice into rings

Mason jar (for this recipe, I used 8 jalapenos and one small mason jar)

Directions:

  • Combine water, vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, garlic, and oregano in a saucepan over high heat.
  • Bring mixture to a boil, stir in jalapeno peppers and remove from heat. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
  • Pack peppers into jar (I only used one small mason jar for 8 jalapenos).
  • Pour vinegar mixture into jar, seal, and refrigerate when cool.
  • Best if used after 7-10 days. (The longer you wait, the better they get!)
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Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Mash

Hi there!

When I was growing up, my food level was very plain Jane. We didn’t eat a lot of “weird” foods or spices. It was a lot of meat, potatoes, pastas… So when I started dating my husband, his family really opened my eyes to all these amazing foods that I was missing out on! One of those things were sweet potatoes. Can you believe that as a kid I never had sweet potatoes?! I know, it sounds like crazy talk. But it’s the truth. No sweet potatoes. I had never even had sweet potato casserole. I mean, that is seriously nuts. So one of the things I really like to rotate into our meals is sweet potatoes because I mean, hello, you can eat vegetables that taste like candy. Um, yes, please.

One of my favorite recipes is this quick and easy sweet potato mash. It is one of those recipes that you can quickly memorize and one that it is really customizable for specific tastes, meal pairings or group size. And did I mention how easy it is? Seriously, you can make this in about 20 minutes and the leftovers are just as good!

Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Mash

(This recipe yields about 4 servings. I usually estimate 1/2 a sweet potato per person)

Ingredients:

2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed (I usually do about bite size. The smaller the pieces, the faster they will soften)

2 tablespoons of milk

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

Optional:

Cinnamon – to taste.

Other – I have also added nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice to change it up.

Directions:

  • Put potato cubes in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until potatoes are soft and can easily be punctured with a fork. 
  • Drain potatoes.
  • Add potoates to large mixing bowl and mash either by hand or with a mixer.  (I usually just mash by hand. I like them a little more “chunky” but if you prefer smooth, you can use a hand mixer)
  • Add milk, butter and maple syrup. (Add cinnamon and/or other spices)
  • Mix until blended. 
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Wacky Cake

Today’s recipe comes from my mom’s recipe book. This recipe has been in my family forever. I really hope it’s not a “secret family recipe” because I’m about to tell all of you!

This is sort of like a mix between a brownie and a cake. It’s not too sweet, there’s no frosting, but it is so light and moist. It’s super easy, can be made all in one pan if you wish, and will get devoured! This cake is so easy that I have been making it since I was a child. 

This is a great recipe because it can be made ahead. If you are making ahead, make sure you sprinkle the powdered sugar just before serving. Otherwise it gets soaked into the cake, which is delicious, but doesn’t look quite as pretty!

Ingredients:

3 c flour
2 c sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla
2 tspn vinegar
3 oz oil (I have used both vegetable oil and olive oil)
2 c cold water

Powdered sugar
Directions:

  • Mix all ingredients
  • Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well
  • Pour into oiled baking pan
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min, until a toothpick comes out clean (or mostly clean)
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool (or just before serving if making ahead)

 

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Parmesan Baked Potato Wedges

Since I’ve been pregnant, I love carbs! Bagels, bread, pasta, and potatoes! I seriously can’t get enough!

I saw this recipe and NEEDED to make these! And they were AH-MAZING. Seriously. So good. We almost ate them all before I could take a photo!

They go perfect with ranch for dipping. My husband also liked them with ketchup and BBQ sauce. He really loves sauces. 🙂

Ingredients:

3 Russet Potatoes

4 tbsp olive oil

½ c. grated parmesan cheese

2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tsp garlic

2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Cut potatoes into wedges
  • Coat potatoes in olive
  • Mix dry ingredients separately
  • Add dry ingredients to  potatoes and mix well so potatoes are coated with seasoning
  • Place a single layer of potatoes on foiled baking sheet
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 40 min, until golden brown and crisp
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Vegetarian Homemade Mexican Pizza

My husband and I used to love Taco Bell. In a very seriously gross way. Lots of memories from our early relationship involve Taco Bell. I’m pretty sure there was an entire summer that I ate it everyday… No joke.

Then we grew up and realized how unhealthy fast food is for us, so we stopped eating it.

But every once and a while, that craving hits and you gotta have it! Luckily I discovered a recipe for homemade Mexican Pizza! It is delicious and may even be better than the original!

Ingredients (this is for 2 Mexican Pizzas)
4 flour tortillas – soft taco size
olive oil
1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
enchilada sauce
cheese, shredded
1 tomato, diced
green onions, choppedoptional:
taco sauce
jalapenos

 

Directions

  • Heat oil in pan. Place a tortilla in pan and cook until it is crispy, bubbly and brown around the edges. Repeat with all tortillas.
  • Once tortillas are cooked, place two tortillas on a cookie sheet or baking dish to create the “bottom.”
  • Spread refried beans on tortillas (usually I will heat the beans and add taco sauce to make them more spreadable and delicious!).
  • Place remaining 2 tortillas on beans.
  • Spoon enchilada sauce onto tortillas.
  • Top with cheese, tomatoes and green onions.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted or place under broiler until cheese melts.
  • Cut into fourths and enjoy!
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Black Bean and Corn (Loaded) Baked Potatoes

This is one of the first meals I started making when were transitioning to being vegetarian. It’s so easy, delicious, and filling! It makes great leftovers too!

Ingredients:
(This made enough for 2 people with extra “insides” left over)
2 medium Russet potatoes (could use sweet potatoes)
olive oil
salt
1 onion
garlic powder (I forgot to measure! Just shake until it feels right!)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 can rinsed black beans
1 cup frozen corn

To top: (optional)
Salsa
Jalapenos
Sour cream/yogurt
Shredded cheese
Cilantro

Directions:

1. Poke potatoes with fork, rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 450 degrees for about an hour. Keep poking with a fork to see if they are soft enough.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions and cook until clear. About 3-4 minutes.

3. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, beans and corn. Cook until heated through.

4. When potatoes are ready, cut down the center, but not through the potato. Push ends of potato towards the middle to open the potato up, fluff inside with a fork.

5. Add bean/corn mixture to potato and load it up!

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Guacamole

I was under the impression that I hated guacamole… I’m not that big of a fan of avocados. However, when I tried this recipe that one of my good friends made, I fell in love!

I have tweaked it a bit and you should too!

Peel and seed avocados. Then mash. This is much easier if you do it before you add anything else!

 

I do not measure anything our for this recipe, I just eyeball it. This is how much onion I used.

 

And how much tomato.

 

Try not to eat the whole thing!
Ingredients
3 ripe Avocados
1/4 of an onion
1/2 of a tomato
Lime juice (about 1/2 of a lime per avocado- this is an estimate. Keep tasting until it’s right!)
Salt and pepper to taste (Do not forget this! I almost always do and you can tell something is missing.)

 

optional: chopped jalapeno
              cilantro

 

*This amount of ingredients is based on my taste. If you don’t like that much tomato in your guac, reduce it.

 

Also, the original recipe called for cilantro. My husband and I do not like cilantro that much and I was sick of buying a whole bundle for just a few sprigs, so I just left it out and it tastes totally fine without it.

 

Directions
1. Peel and seed avocados. Mash them up.
2. Add chopped onion, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir it up!
3. Taste to make sure you like it – add more salt/pepper/lime juice if necessary.
4. Enjoy!
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