Hearty Spin Dip and a Little Quip on Friendships with Kids

I have the incredible good fortune of having understanding, empathetic, accommodating friends with and without kids. With that said, this video from Elle on Friends without Kids absolutely nails the concept of socializing with little ones. With girlfriends on the way over yesterday, the memory of this video kept me chuckling through the juggle of cleaning, maintaining what had been cleaned, keeping the kids fed, happy, and entertained while prepping an appy.

Because one girlfriend was visiting from out of town and would be conducting her own juggle of her daughter's nap time on the road, and catching up with us. Finger food was a must. Here is the recipe, I whipped up:

Hearty Spin Dip & Pita Chips

This recipe is quite literally a healthy spin on a traditional spinach and artichoke dip, inspired by Eat Shrink and Be Merry's "Hearty Choke Dip" the biggest difference is mine is all-natural.

Healthy Spin Dip

Ingredients

1 can (398 mL / 14 oz ) artichoke hearts, not marinated

½ yellow onion, coarsly chopped

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and cut into thirds

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ cans of chick peas (approximately 600 mL / 21 oz)

250 g/ 9 oz of all-natural cream cheese

½ bag (150 g/ 5 oz) of frozen cut organic spinach, thawed

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tbsp (approximately) lemon juice

 6 +/ - dashes hot pepper sauce

 ½ cup shredded Asiago, Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese (60 g/ 2 oz) 

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 ºF/  220 ºC. Drain artichokes. Pat both artichokes and thawed spinach with paper towel. Cut artichokes in half and place them, along with the onion and garlic on an baking pan sprayed with vegetable oil. Spray the contents of the tray with more olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast uncovered until garlic turns golden brown (about 10 minutes). Place drained chick peas, cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, remaining olive oil, and hot sauce in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Remove artichokes, onion and garlic from oven. Allow them to cool for roughly 5 minutes. Reduce the heat of the oven to 375 ºF/ 190 ºC. Then add roasted veg, spinach, half the grated cheese, and salt and pepper into the food processor. Pulse until mixed well.

Smooth mixture into a casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and place uncovered into oven for 30 mintues or until the contents of the dish start to bubble and the cheese turns golden brown.

Whole Wheat Pita Chips

Ingredients

½ dozen whole wheat pitas

Extra virigin olive oil spray

Garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 ºF/ 205 ºC.  Cut pita into triangles and then separate triangles in half. Place on cookie sheet. Spray with extra virigin olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake for 5-7 minutes (until chips are light brown). Let cool for about a minute before serving.

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