Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Hot Artichoke and Spinach "SKINNY" Dip

There's nothing like a HOT SKINNY DIP!

I had always wanted to try making this dip. It just sounded so good to me since I love artichokes and spinach. And I wanted to make a dip that wasn't loaded with tons of fat. Mission impossible? Not really. It was actually pretty easy. I got some inspiration from Ellie Krieger from Healthy Appetite and just winged it.

It turned out really good, although it was a little thick. It was probably too thick to successfully dip thin chips but was great for pretzel sticks, celery pieces and baby carrots.

I thinned it out the next day with more sour cream and it was even better, so I adjusted my recipe with those changes. Hope you like it!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

1 tablespoon e.v. olive oil
1 bunch scallions (green onions), finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic
1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and dried
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess liquid squeezed out
1 cup low-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less-fat cream cheese)
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded fontinella cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium/low heat. Add scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the spinach, mix well and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Combine the artichoke hearts, sour cream, mayonnaise, Neufchatel, fontinella and salt and pepper in a food processor. Add in the spinach mixture and process until smooth. Spray an 8-inch glass square baking dish or 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray and spread in mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with pretzel sticks or crudites.

6 comments:

Emily said...

Sounds delicious! You're thriving in these days where eveyone is dieting. My blog is suffering because I can't think of anything to make that doesn't have a ton of fat in it.

I love spinach-artichoke dip. Great with pita.

Annie said...

Em, not really. I think people would probably rather see the fattening stuff. And by the way, your blogs is never suffering. You always have great recipes, fattening or not.

I think even I am running out of low-fat stuff to post. I will be posting more of my Christmas cookies soon!

cube said...

Being that it's January, everyone is looking for the most low calorie stuff they can find. I think this recipe is spot on.

Emma said...

Bless you! I'm freezing my butt off and was just thinking how I'd love to try a new hot appetizer this weekend but I'm trying to lose 10 pounds and all my appetizer recipes are loaded with fat and calories. This looks so yummy! I'm going to try it this weekend for sure.

Annie said...

Hey thanks for visiting cube.

Emma, Nice to hear from you again. I hope you like it. You could go even lower cal if you use low fat mozzarella in place of the fontinella! But you might lose a little flavor. It might be worth trying, let me know how it went!

Annie said...

I found another low-fat spinach and artichoke dip recipe from cooking light that I thought may be worth trying. Here it is...

Ingredients

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (2 tablespoons Parmesan through spinach) in a large bowl, and stir until well-blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.
Yield

5 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup dip and about 6 chips)
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 148(30% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 2.9g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 7.7g; CHOLESTEROL 17mg; CALCIUM 164mg; SODIUM 318mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 18.3g