Cooking with Shonte. Spinach artichoke dip w. homemade chips

Come and join our house chef, Shonte', nurse practitioner and farmer for her monthly live cooking sessions.  

She writes all of her own recipes, and adds her little tips and tricks to bring mouth watering flavors to her dishes.   

You can cook with her or just join to watch. 

Here is the recipe for February.  We hope you join us.  

You can also watch on our facebook group, as we stream live. 

 

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Homemade Tortilla Chips

Serves about 4-5, double the recipe for a larger dip

Ingredients:

1 jar/can of marinated or not marinated quartered artichoke hearts 

1 10 oz bag of frozen chopped spinach thawed or 1 bag of fresh spinach (5-10 oz)

¼ cup of mayonnaise (can use up to ½ cup for a creamier texture)

¼ cup sour cream (can use up to ½ cup for a creamier texture)

¼ -½ cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

5 cloves of garlic or 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 packet of soft flour tortillas (for homemade tortilla chips, otherwise you can buy any dipper you prefer such as pita bread, blue tortilla chips, store-bought tortilla chips, pita chips, or sliced French bread)

2 cups of olive oil for frying

1 teaspoon of Garlic salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of salt to season fried tortilla chips

Vegan/healthier alternatives: plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise; mashed tofu, vegan mayonnaise, or cashew cream instead of mayonnaise; soy yogurt or vegan yogurt, instead of sour cream.

Tools:

Large mixing bowl

Baking dish (the smaller the dish, the deeper the dipping)

Fryer or pot for deep frying

Large spoon

Chopper

Garlic mincer (optional)

aluminum foil

Saute pan

Directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees 

If you bought the frozen chopped spinach, thaw it, then drain as much liquid from it as possible by straining bit by bit in a paper towel, then place it in a large mixing bowl

If cooking raw spinach, chop up the spinach, and saute in a pan with ½ tablespoon of olive oil until cooked down for about 3 minutes (strain the liquid from cooked spinach in a paper towel) then place it in a large mixing bowl

Strain the artichoke hearts and cut into small pieces (to your preference), then add to bowl with spinach

Mince or chop the 5 cloves of garlic or use 1 tablespoon of jar minced garlic, then add to bowl with spinach

In the large bowl that has the spinach, garlic,  and artichoke, mix in the mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese (the other half will be used to top the dish)

if you want the dip creamier add more mayo and sour cream(max total should be ½ cup of each)

Mix everything well in the bowl, then add to the baking dish and layer the top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese 

cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, place in the oven, and bake for 10-15minues (dip should be bubbling hot and all melted) then remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and brown

Serve while hot or reheat before serving

For homemade Tortilla chips

heat the 2 cups of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat or heat your fryer, while the oil is heating, cut each tortilla into 4 or 6 triangles or to the size you like, and make as many tortilla chips as you prefer, you could even cut them into squares

Once the oil is hot, drop the tortillas (as many as can fit, do not overcrowd the oil) and fry until puffy and brown which should take about 3 minutes for each batch, the tortillas should float at the top of the oil when their done

Remove tortillas from the oil and place them onto paper towels to drain the oil, and salt for flavor

Once the tortillas are cool, they will be crispy and work perfectly as a dipping tool 

Enjoy!!