Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Football Season is upon us, and what does that mean?! Hmm...it means FOOD! Or does is mean FOOTBALL???  Truth is, I don't watch much football anymore, and I think I need to at least pretend I do, so I can go to all the parties with the yummy food!  OR, I can use it as an excuse to just make it at home?!  Yep, okay, I feel better now.  I talked myself right into it. 
My husband is a HUGE chips and dip fan.  I swear he would eat that for every meal.  He is simple though, with his favorite being chips and salsa.  I on the other hand love the creamy dips(go figure) the most.  He LOVES them too, but they take more work then chips and salsa where it's "fridge to face" :) That is how he rolls in the cooking department. Chips and salsa are by far the healthier choice, which is my main reason I very seldom bake creamy dips.  BUT it's FOOTBALL season, so I have an excuse! ;)

Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I'm sorry I don't have any "prettier" photos of the final product.  I made this at my friend's house for our dinner get together, and we were all ready to dig in once this came out of the oven! I even had to tell one of them "hands off!" until I snapped a picture. :) 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: Enough for a football party(but I'm sure it wont last long, so you might double it :))

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 (6.5oz) jars of marinated artichoke hearts , drained, and finely chopped
• 1 (10oz) package chopped frozen spinach , thawed, and squeeze drained
• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup miracle whip
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, grated(I used pre shredded, which takes longer to melt, but works just fine in this dip)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese , grated( I used pre shredded)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper( Add more for more spice.  This really wasn't spicy at all. Wish I would have used more)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Thaw spinach, and squeeze all the water out.  Check out my post Fettuccine with Spinach and Feta Cheese for a quick and easy way to squeeze the water out of frozen spinach.

  In a medium mixing bowl add, softened cream cheese, miracle whip, parmesan, mozzarella, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne.

Stir to combine.  Add in sour cream, and the chopped artichoke hearts.

 

Add in spinach.  Stir until just combined.

 

Pour into a baking pan.  I used a 12"x12", which made the dip about 1" thick in the pan. 

Sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on the top, if you have extra. :)

Bake at 350 degrees, for 25 minutes. 

Serve with some warm crusty french bread, crackers, chips, or whatever else sounds good! 

Enjoy!!

Question of the Day:

Are you ready for some football?!! :)  Do you watch? Have a favorite team??

Don't hold it against me when I do tell you the team I like.(if I do watch football)  Don't let it scare you away, and never come back... Pweeeeeze! :)  Minnesota Vikings...Any other Viking fans out there?