spinach and artichoke dip.

I originally wanted to make these cute little spinach and artichoke bites I found on (where else) Pinterest. They are so cute and looked like the perfect little finger food for our party. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find wonton wrappers in our local grocery store (not sure if we even have them here in Australia...) so I decided to try it with rice paper instead. I'll go ahead and end your suspense by letting you know that rice paper doesn't NOT work so just ignore them in the photo below.

I would say that spinach dip is one, if not THE number one, of the most popular dips seen at parties in the United States. During college we would make spin dip for pretty much every occasion. Watching American Idol... let's make spin dip! Having a Halloween Party... let's make spin dip! Sitting around drinking cans of Natty Light... let's make two servings spin dip! And yes, CK, you make the best spin dip :)

However, I quickly found out that this particular dip is a bit of an unknown secret here in Oz. As in, the most amazing secret they never knew they were missing!!



There are probably a dozen ways you can make this dip, but here is the one that I used last weekend.

The Key Players:

• 1 tub softened cream cheese
• 1 box of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
• half a jar of marinated artichokes (drained and chopped)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mayo
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove of minced garlic

Basically, mix everything together, dump it in an oven proof dish and chuck it in the oven. BAM! It is that easy.



Heat it in the oven until it is bubbly and golden brown on the top.



Serve with corn chips or fresh bread.

I think it is safe to say that the Aussies enjoyed this dip because it was one of the first things to disappear. Now that I know it is a crowd pleaser, I believe it will be making an appearance a bit more often.

Happy cooking... and eating friends :)