In the Kitchen: Artichoke & Spinach Dip

This recipe is a bit of a family tradition in my house, my sister makes this all the time, I would say it's one of her signature recipes! And it was my Mom who originally started making the dip, she got the recipe from the newspaper years ago. It's not one of those fancy signature dishes like the homemade perogi we whip up around Christmas or my Grandma Rose's spaghetti and meatballs -- but it is ridiculously tasty and so simple to make! Here's the lowdown...

Ingredients:
- 1 can quartered artichoke hearts in water (Not marinated)
- 1 cup mayonnaise (The Ditta girls have a bit of a disagreement on this one; sister swears by only regular Hellmann's, where as Mama and I think using Light Hellmann's is fine, up to you!)
- 1 package frozen chopped spinach (can be elimnated if you don't like spinach, but it's so good!)
- 1 package shredded Parmesan cheese
- Paprika, to taste

Preparation:
Drain the artichokes and rinse to remove brine. Pat dry and dice up.

Add artichokes to a medium size bowl, and drain the spinach, this was interesting since it was frozen. I pretty much squeezed the heck out of that frozen cardboard container! Once spinach is drained add that to the bowl along with mayo and Parmesan cheese, mix together until everything is blended.

Next, spread everything into a baking type dish, I used my trusty 9x9 Le Cruset, pie plates also work well or any other pretty, little oven-safe dish. Oh my, I almost forgot the paprika, sprinkle this over the top of the dip when you have it in your dish.

Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes, after the 20 minutes, if it is bubbly and appears done you are good to go. One last step I like to do -- switch the oven to broil and leave the dip in for 5 or less minutes, it really browns up the top and gives the dip a nice look! (I do have to laugh a little when I look at the below pictcure, Pioneer Women talked about lighting for pictures today and she always seems to find the perfect natural lighting. Ha. Natural lighting in my kitchen. In the middle of the winter. Unless I'm home on the weekend between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm, no natural lighting in my kitchen! And thats assuming the stubborn sun will even make an appearance. My point and shoot camera plus the under counter lighting will have to do...)

And of course you can serve this with just about any kind of chips, crackers or pitas. Even some carrot and celery sticks are good! Hope you love this dip as much as I do!