Artichoke Spinach Dip - yum!

Okay, so there are tons of variations on artichoke spinach dip.  Personally, I like the ones that are in bread bowls since you can then eat the bread when the dip is gone.  I didn't have a bread roll available when I was craving the dip though, so I just made it in a baking dish.  I will have to try that next time though as I already have a few things I'd like to tweak.  That's not to say it wasn't good - hubby really enjoyed it right out of the oven.  I liked it better when it had cooled to room temperature, and it was also good the next day right out of the fridge.

So use this as a starter, and add more or less of what you like and don't as much. Simple :-)

What you need:

1/2 - 1 bag of frozen spinach (depending on how much spinach you like)
1 jar of artichoke hearts (I used a 285g jar)
1 container of sour cream
1-2 cloves garlic
mayonnaise
cream cheese
2- 3 cups  grated cheese (parmesan + whatever else you'd like)




Turn the oven on to 180 C

In a bowl, combine the spinach (thawed and water squeezed out).  Drain the artichoke hearts (I like to rinse them as well but you don't have to) and then chop them up.  Add them to the spinach and mix.

Stir in the sour cream, 1/2 of your cream cheese container and about 1/3 of a cup of mayonnaise. Mix well.

Add the grated cheese and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic.

If the consistency is OK,sprinkle some cheese on top and put it in the oven, otherwise add the rest of your cream cheese, mix again and then place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.


Serve with bread (if making a bread bowl, save the bread and bake it for a few minutes) or baked tortilla strips.  Enjoy right out of the oven or prepare ahead of time and warm up in the microwave.

Easy Apple Pie

Since my MIL was here, I've been enjoying baking some desserts. I also really like the kuchenteig that I used for the last apple dessert.  I haven't heard yet whether it's easy to find in the US, but I'll worry about that if we decide to move back.

You don't need a whole lot for this.  The original recipe I found off a link on Pinterest, you can see it here, but I changed it a bit for what I had available here and what I thought would be good.

What you need:

1 package Kuchenteig
5-6 apples ( I just bought a one of the 6 packs and sliced them up since they were on sale)
3 Tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon juice



Slice the apples into thin slices and put in a baking dish. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.  Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples the ad the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Bake at 180 C for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, unroll your dough and cut the edges into strips, leaving the center intact for your apples.

You can also start the glaze topping while this is cooking.  What you need:

1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (again I'm using the one I made since I think it tastes better)
1 pinch of nutmeg
the juice leftover from your baked apples after you have removed them from the pan
1-2 tsp water or milk

Once the apples are out of the oven, spread them down the middle of the dough and then crisscross the dough over it.

Place on a baking sheet and bake at the temperature and time indicated on the dough.

When the bread is just about finished cooking, combine the glaze ingredients.  The amount of water you need to add depends on how much juice you have remaining from your apples.  If you use more apples you may only need 1 tsp of water, if you use less you may need 2-3.  You want the consistency to be thicker than that of water by itself, but not so thick that you can't drizzle it over the top of your bread.

Remove the pie from the baking sheet and put on a cutting board or rack. Drizzle the glaze over the top.  If you can, wait a few minutes for it to cool slightly, then enjoy!