Spinach Artichoke Dip

I seem to be all about recipes these days.  I think it's because that is how I have spent many of my recent Saturdays - puttering around the kitchen.  I guess it's because I like to eat.

So today, I made spinach & artichoke dip.  I made it because we are having company this evening, and I wanted something to stuff into crescent rolls for little finger food things.  After I made it, I tried it out on chips first, and Craig said it tasted like something you'd get in a restaurant.  Woo hoo!  He's not that easy to please.  So I figured I'd share it.

It wasn't too hard, although it took a while, between all the, "I need to sit on the potty" trips and "I want some juice!" and "DINK!  DINK!"  and "Ohs?  Ohs?"  Etc.  But it was pretty easy, and probably wouldn't have taken all that long if I hadn't had so many interruptions.  But we all know how that is!

The only problem is, I'm not sure how much cheese I used, and particularly how much of each kind.  I basically just pulled out all the white cheeses I had in the fridge and used a combination of them.  I had grated parmesan, provolone slices, and shredded "pizza blend" cheese.  I used 3 or 4 provolone slices and chopped them up really small with a knife, so they almost looked shredded.  It would definitely be easier with just plain shredded cheese, though!  But here's what I used and what I did:

Spinach Artichoke Dip

What I used:

- 1 12 oz. pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained (I squeezed it with my hands to get all the excess liquid out.  It was kinda gross, but I thought it probably needed to be pretty liquid-free.)

- 1 can artichoke bottoms (could use hearts, but bottoms have more "meat" and less leaf on them)

- 1 slice of bacon

- about 1/3 onion, minced

- 1 to 3 cloves garlic, minced (this depends on how much you like garlic.  I used 3, and I love how it turned out, but that is probably a lot for most people.  If you are not a garlic lover, I'd suggest just one.)

- about 2-3 cups (sorry!) shredded or grated (or chopped into tiny pieces) white italian cheeses (like parmesan, mozzarella, provolone-is that italian?-etc.  Best with a blend, I think.)

- 1 egg

- large spoonful sour cream (I used a serving spoon, maybe 2-3 T?)

What I did:

1.  Thaw spinach in microwave, stirring every 25 seconds or so until fully thawed.  Drain by squeezing out excess liquid.

2.  Open, drain and rinse artichoke bottoms, then dice into small cubes.

3.  Cook bacon in small skillet on low-med heat.  Remove and set aside.  Add onion to bacon grease and cook on low heat until transparent, about 2-3 minutes.  Mince garlic into skillet and cook another minute or so.  Remove to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

4.  Add egg to onion and beat.  Blend with cheese in a medium bowl.  Make sure it is well mixed.  Add egg & cheese mixture to spinach and artichoke mixture and mix well.  (I mixed with my hands to make sure it was well-blended and the spinach was broken up.)

5.  Optional:  Crumble bacon and add to mixture.  Microwave bacon for 20-30 seconds if it is too soft to crumble.

6.  Add sour cream and blend well.

7.  Transfer to greased casserole dish and bake at 375 until melted through or bubbly on top.  (So far, I have only cooked it in very small one-serving dishes, and it took ten minutes.)

Serve with tortilla chips and salsa.

Alternately, you could use the mixture to stuff the crescent rolls you can buy, unbaked, at the grocery.  Put a spoonful of mixture into dough before rolling it up, then cook per instructions on the package.  I tried this, and it was good. :)  I was afraid it would leak out the ends because I put quite a bit in, but either the cheese or the egg held it together, and it stayed in place.

Enjoy!  And let me know if you try this, what you think, and if you make any modifications, because I am always looking for ideas!