I wouldn’t call myself the greatest cook – for most of my 20’s and early 30’s I stuck to the same meals and snacks in the kitchen – eggs, plain chicken, rice, steamed veggies, the occasional pasta, and some homemade pizza here and there. If I had to describe my cooking style, I’d go with boring and easy. However, as time has passed I’ve tried hard to change that and improve upon my culinary skills; I grew tired of the complaints from my step-daughters and husband. “I hate chicken…this is ok I guess…it’s not my favorite….” were just a few of the common phrases mumbled at the dinner table over the years. They are a difficult crowd to please!
I like to think I’ve gotten better with branching out on the foods I prepare for my family, and have spent some time over the years figuring out recipes for meals and snacks that they like. Some things have been a hit – fried rice, buffalo chicken dip, homemade chicken parm – while others have been mehhhhh, not so great. Can’t win them all I guess. It seems silly, that I focused so much on pleasing my family for dinner, sometimes making 3 separate meals so everyone had something they liked. Growing up, my family sat down for dinner every Sunday. We were all busy with our own lives and wouldn’t always be home at the same time for dinner, but my mom made sure to have at least one sit down family meal each week. My teenage self probably hated this, but looking back on it now I can appreciate the effort my mom made and can understand why it was so important to her. I see this shift in my own family. The girls are off with sports, work, friends, boyfriends. My husband would pick up an extra shift at work here and there and often times miss dinner; it was a slow change, but I saw it coming, and knew I wanted to preserve the tradition of a family sit down meal for as long as possible. I needed that time at the dinner table with them all, learning about their days, hearing what was going on at school or with their friends, because I knew eventually they’d have their own lives and be too busy for family time. It’s just a part of life, but truthfully I’ve had a hard time with accepting it and letting go.
So yes, I spent a lot of time focusing on meals and learning to cook things everyone would enjoy. I needed a reason to bring them back to the table and share about their lives. And because of that I have a few favorite recipes within our family. I don’t intend for this to ever become a food blog, mainly because at 34 years old I still don’t really like to try new foods. But when I have something that my family and friends love, I want to share it in hopes that it becomes a dish that temporarily hits that “pause” button on life and brings your family together at the table.
The latest family favorite is this creamy spinach dip, and I even got a little fancy and served it in a bread bowl. Spinach makes it healthy, but all the cheese makes it delicious!
Creamy Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz softened cream cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 giant handfuls of spinach, steamed
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 loaf sourdough bread
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnish
- Olive oil
- Snacks to serve with (crackers, pretzels, veggie sticks, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a small baking dish and set aside.
- Steam as much spinach as your heart desires. Wring it out to dry, and finely chop. You can use frozen spinach if needed, just thaw it out and wring it dry.
- In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, chopped spinach, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella, salt and pepper to taste. Stir together until smooth.
- Spread the dip into the baking dish, and top with 3/4 cup mozzarella.
- NOTE – if you are preparing to serve this in bread bowl, do not top with mozzarella.
- Bake dip for 10-15 minutes, until cheese looks slightly melted.
- While dip is in the oven, hollow out the loaf of sourdough bread. I’m not quite sure the best way to do this, but I cut an oval shape into mine, and scoop out the bread or pull it out by hand. Drizzle some olive oil lightly on the inside of the bread and around the edges. Taking the bread you scooped out, cut it up into smaller cubes/bites to later serve with dip.
- After dip has been baking for 10-15 minutes, take it out of the oven and scoop it into the bread bowl. Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese starts to bubble.
- For a little extra crunch, you can turn the oven to broil and broil for 2-3 additional minutes.
- Sprinkle with parsley to make it look pretty, and serve!
I know nothing about the nutritional value of this dip or the servings it makes, and honestly I think it’s better that way.
