Spinach Artichoke Dip

In the spirit of football season, I decided to make some game day foods since we are watching the Patriots game.  So I made my buttermilk fried chicken wings and tried a new recipe for spinach artichoke dip!  It was amazingly good and so easy.  It's a crock pot recipe, which of course are my favorite since you toss in the ingredients and then let it do its thing until you're ready to eat.

Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
10 oz. Frozen spinach, thawed
8 oz. Cream cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can/jar artichokes (not marinated)

Instructions:
In the crock pot, add all of the cheeses and cream cheese, then toss in the minced garlic.  Before you add the spinach, make sure that you've broken it up a bit with a fork to make sure its not in large chunks, and then add that to the crock pot.  Lastly, drain the water out of the can or jar of artichokes, and then dice them into small pieces, and add it to the crock pot.  Give this all a stir and then cook on high for two hours.  Half way through, open the lid and stir everything again.

Enjoy!!!

This Fall's Brussel Sprout Harvest

Last Fall I posted pictures of our first ever harvest of brussel sprouts, and that time has come again!  Ever since my Mom and I became obsessed with roasted brussels, we wanted to see if they would grow well in the garden, and they do!  The interesting thing about this vegetable is that you can't pick them until it gets colder.  Typically, you wait until after the first frost of the season but it's been cold enough at night that we thought we would harvest some and see how they taste.  

 Today we picked one stalk of them, with many more stalks left in the garden.  Here's what we got:

To recap our easy recipe for cooking these on the stovetop...

Add 2 tbsp. of olive oil to a saucepan, with 2 cloves of crushed garlic.  When this heats up and the garlic is sizzling, add the brussel sprouts (first you will rinse them and chop each one in half.)  Then, add a good sprinkle of coarse salt, pepper, and the juice of half a lemon.  Let the brussels roast until the edges gets crispy and golden brown.  Enjoy!
 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies

I've been away from the blog for a bit, but I'm back with a new pumpkin-inspired recipe!  It's finally autumn again, and I'm always determined to try new seasonal recipes.  These blondie bars are easy to make, and they are a wonderful treat for a snack or a dessert. 

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients: 

2 cups flour
1/2 tbsp. nutmeg
1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened, canned pumpkin
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions: 

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.  When it is smooth, add in the egg and vanilla extract.  Now, add the pumpkin puree and mix everything together until well-combined.  Add in the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and mix on a low speed until everything is mixed.  Now, fold in the chocolate chips.  The batter will be like a stiff cookie batter at this point.  Spread the mixture into a greased pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. 

*yields 24 bars*