artichoke dip

I was supposed to post this recipe a couple weeks ago, but I forgot.

I had some friends over to the house awhile back.  We sat on the patio, had some light snacks, got eaten alive by the mosquitoes, and caught up with each other; it was a good time.

We had cheese and crackers, hummus and veggies, fruit, and artichoke dip with crostinis (store bought, not homemade - sorry!). The artichoke dip was pretty much demolished, while the veggies were virtually untouched.  My husband came along and joined us, so he ate some of the cheese.  That was the only thing on the table he would eat.  He's not into raw veggies or fruit, and definitely not artichoke dip.  I really wanted some of pineapple on the fruit plate (I normally don't eat it because it's very high in sugar and too much sugar upsets my stomach), so I grabbed a chunk.  It wasn't sweet at all!  So weird.  That was it on the fruit for me since I don't eat honeydew or cantelope. And grapes are kind of...I don't know...weird for me since the surgery. I think it's the skin I don't like anymore.

All during our visit I was hoping that there would be some dip left over - the following day I like to put the dip on the crostini and put it in the toaster oven; it's usually my breakfast.  But lucky for me there was enough dip left over the next day to have leftovers.  As fate would have it, I opened the container, turned around, and somehow knocked the container to the floor.  Upside down.  And all the dip was on the floor.  So, no breakfast treat for me. My husband yelled. "Five second rule!"  Um, no.  Not in a house with 11 cats. And especially not with dip.

Anyway, this is the recipe I always use and it's never failed me yet.  I wish I could remember where I got it from.  Mostly likely a website.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture, so you'll just have to imagine a casserole dish full of hot, creamy, cheesy artichoke dip.

Creamy Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

2 8 oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
3 6 oz jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained, coarsely chopped
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
3 green onions, finely chopped

Directions

1. Using electric mixer, beat first 8 ingredients in large bowl to blend. 
2. Fold in artichokes, mozzarella cheese, and green onions. 
3. Transfer to 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
4. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
5. Bake dip until bubbling and brown on top, about 20 minutes. Note:  If you refrigerated the dip, bring it to room temperature before baking.  Or cover with foil and bake for about 10 minutes. Then uncover and continue baking as instructed.
6. Serve hot dip with pita chips, crostini, or crackers.