Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happy New Year (week) everyone! Really I don’t get very excited about a new year, I don’t really do resolutions but the thing I always get excited about no matter what the holiday is the food! New Years Eve is all about party food and that includes every and any kind of dip. So of course I had to finally share my version of warm Spinach Artichoke Dip. This stuff is unbelievably delicious, you won’t know when to stop! It’s a good thing it’s rich because it makes it pretty filling so you won’t be able to eat the whole thing by yourself in one sitting :).


Spinach Artichoke Dip

Yield: About 8 servingsIngredients

1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts (in water)
8 oz baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp butter
Coupons
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup half and half, then more as desired
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, diced into small cubes
1 cup (3 oz) finely shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Tortilla chips, crackers or baguette slices, for serving

Directions

Drain artichoke hearts then chopped into small pieces. Place on several layers of paper towels then squeeze some of the excess moisture from artichoke hearts.

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add spinach, artichoke hearts and garlic and saute until spinach has just wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add in half and half, sour cream, cream cheese cubes and parmesan cheese and return pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly (reducing heat just slightly if needed) until cheese has melted and dip is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste, thin with more half and half if desired and sprinkle in red pepper flakes if desired. Serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers or baguette slices.

Seed cake with clementine icing recipe

A crunchy, textured cake that will appeal to those who like their cakes not too sweet. Swap the beetroot for a second apple if you wish.

self-raising flour 225g
baking powder 1 scant tsp
ground cinnamon ½ tsp
sunflower oil 180ml
light muscovado sugar 125g
golden caster sugar 100g
eggs 3
raw beetroot 1, small, peeled (100g)
apples 150g, 1 medium
lemon juice 1 tbsp
sunflower seeds 25g
pumpkin seeds 15g
poppy seeds 10g

For the icing:
mascarpone 150g
cream cheese 150g
icing sugar 75g
clementines 2
crystalised oranges 2

Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Line the base and sides of a loaf tin measuring about 20cm x 10cm x 8cm with baking parchment.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Put the sunflower oil and sugars into the bowl of a food mixer and beat for 3 or 4 minutes until thoroughly creamed. Break the eggs into a bowl, beat them lightly with a fork to combine whites and yolks then add them, a third at a time, to the mixture, beating continuously.

Grate the beetroot and the apple into a bowl using the coarse side of the grater, then add the seeds and the lemon juice.

Add the flour to the sugar and egg mixture, stop the mixer then gently fold the apple, beetroot and seeds into the mixture with a large metal spoon or rubber spatula, only stirring enough to evenly distribute the fruit and vegetables. (Too thorough a mixing will send the cake pink.) Transfer to the lined cake tin.

Smooth the surface of the cake then bake for 50-60 minutes until lightly firm. Test for doneness after 50 minutes. If it is not yet done, cover loosely with foil to prevent over-browning and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and leave to cool, in its tin, for 30 minutes before carefully removing and placing on a rack.

When the cake is completely cold, make the frosting. Cream the mascarpone and the cream cheese together then add the sugar. Finely grate the zest of the clementines and fold in to the frosting. Spread over the cake.

Slice the crystalised fruits in half then into thick segments. Decorate the cake with the segments.

Easy Shrimp and Veggie Miso Ramen

It wasn’t until recently that I’ve actually started to like the taste and texture of shrimp. I never grew up eating it so it was one of those things I kind of had to learn to appreciate, at least somewhat. I actually I loved it in this ramen though and it’s not often that I would use the word “love” when it comes to shrimp. Apparently shrimp and ramen just go together. It was something new for me because I always prefer chicken or pork in my ramen.



This is a recipe I would use again and again. This really is more of an idea than a recipe – it just shows how easy it is to jazz up a package of ramen. But not just any ramen, the Nissin RAOH are my new favorite kind of ramen and they don’t require adding in extra flavors and ingredients which I love. You can order them here:

Easy Miso Shrimp and Veggie Ramen

Ingredients

1 (3.77 oz) package Nissin Raoh Unami Miso Flavor Ramen
1/2 lb peeled and deveined cooked medium shrimp
1 1/3 cups frozen vegetable blend (the one with peas, carrots, corn and green beans)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp peeled and minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, sliced
Sesame seeds
Sriracha

Directions

Prepare ramen according to directions on package. Meanwhile, heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add vegetable blend and ginger and saute 2 minutes, then add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
Divide ramen among two bowls then top each with half the shrimp, half of the sauteed vegetable blend and green onions. Serve with sesame seeds and Sriracha.