spinach and artichoke dip.

A few years ago my mom found a recipe for spinach and artichoke dip on one of her favorite recipe websites, Epicurious. She showed it to me, and it's become my tradition to make it every year for the holidays. Thanksgiving, maybe Christmas, definitely New Years. Without fail, someone is always asking for the recipe. I mean, who doesn't LOVE spinach and artichoke dip? It's the perfect appetizer. It's the perfect mix of garlick-y and creamy. And its so easy to throw together before your guests arrive.

BAKED SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP
2 (6 oz.) packages fresh baby spinach
1 tablespoon butter
1 (8 oz.) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1. Microwave spinach in a large, microwave-safe bowl at high 3 minutes or until wilted. Drain spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Chop spinach.

2. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cream cheese and garlic; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until cream cheese melts. Fold in spinach, artichokes, sour cream, and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese; stir until cheese melts.

3. Transfer mixture to a 1-qt. shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

You can serve with bread, crackers or pita wedges. We like ours with nice little pieces of bread! Enjoy!

I've been doing an awful lot of cooking lately. Honestly, I don't really know what's gotten into me. It could partly be because my mom has been sick with pneumonia for the past week, but all of this cooking has really been good for me, I think.

Well, like I said, my mom has been pretty sick lately. What's the best thing to eat when you're sick? Chicken noodle soup, of course!

Simple Chicken Noodle SoupIngredients: 1 whole chicken

Water
Chicken broth (if you have it on hand)
Celery
Baby carrots
1 yellow onion
Half a bag of frozen peas and corn
1 bay leaf
Your favorite noodles

Preparation: Clean chicken and celery
Fill pot with water and chicken broth until halfway up the the chicken.
Throw baby carrots, celery stalk and whole onion in pot.

Get it cookin': Bring to a boil, scoop foam off of the top of the broth, then let simmer on medium-low for an hour.
Take chicken out of pot and let it cool. Throw away veggies that were cooking with the broth.
Chop up baby carrots and celery and throw it in the pot.
Cut as much chicken as your heart desires, throw in the...you guessed it...pot.
Do the same with frozen corn and peas, noodles and bay leaf.. (I used lasagna noodles which are as big as my face, so I broke them into small pieces.)
Bring to a boil, then let simmer until noodles are soft.

Eat and enjoy!

soft & chewy chocolate cookies.

Today I was a busy little bee. I had dance practice for 2.5 hours, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, and cooked a whole meal with dessert on my own. I've been doing quite a bit of this cooking thing lately, and I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it. 

So I really want to talk about this dessert. Right now. We can talk about the rest later.

soft & chewy chocolate cookies

What you need: 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup (1 -1/2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour

Heat: oven to 350 F. Microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add sugar; mix well. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour (Do not overmix.) Refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

Shape: into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets (parchment paper is better ;-)

Bake: 8 min. or until set. (Do not overbake.) Let stand on baking sheet 1 min; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: the recipe that I used was found on the back of a Bakers chocolate box. It calls for cool whip as a topping with chocolate in it, but... 1. I hate cool whip/ whipped cream. 

I was going to make some sort of other chocolate topping, but I had been cooking/cleaning/dancing all day and my feet hurt. Peanut butter did work wonders, though.

sensational strawberry & blueberry smoothie

what you need.
7 very ripe fresh strawberries
handful of fresh blueberries
1 yoplait strawberry yogurt
handful of ice cubes

what you do.
throw it all in the blender and blend until it's all smooth.

what you get.
a wonderful smoothie where the freshness of the berries shines through in every sip. the yogurt adds the perfect thickness to it. not too creamy or sweet. just right.

this is perfect for a busy day, when you need to throw something together quick, and you're worried about not getting your daily four fruits and veggies in. you've got two fruits and a bit of dairy packed in.

or if you just need to get rid of the older strawberries in your fridge. ;-)