Spinach Artichoke Dip

Sunday, for the Superbowl, I made Spinach Artichoke Dip, adapted from the recipe out of my Bridal Edition Red Plaid Cookbook.

1/2 c + a handful shredded mozzarella
1 c sour cream
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c + a couple shakes shredded parmesan
14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 1/2 c fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 c finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped

In a bowl combine the 1/2c mozzarella, sour cream, mayo and 1/2 parmesan. Add the artichokes, spinach, red onion and garlic. Spread in a pan (the original recipe called for a 9" pie plate. I used a 5x9 (?) glass pan). Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheeses and some fresh black pepper

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Serve with veggies, chips, fresh bread, whatever tastes good.

Half headless photo courtesy of my brother...

On Monday, we still had over half a pan of dip left. There were several people sick on Sunday that couldn't make it. So I decided to do something creative with the dip before we got sick of eating dip. I started thinking about this chicken ring that my mom makes on her Pampered Chef baking stone.

So that's what I did. Except it's more of a spinach artichoke log, and I used a cookie sheet.

1 package of Pillsbury Big & Buttery Crescent rolls
Leftover Spinach Artichoke dip

Lay the crescent rolls on the cookie sheet, alternating directions. Along one side of the rolls, scoop in the dip. Then cover and press the edges closed.

The cookie sheet wasn't long enough for all of the crescent rolls as a log, so we had some spare rolls on the side.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, until the crescent rolls are golden.

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Garden Report 09.09.11

While the weather is cooling off outside (in the 50s, 60s and 70s this week!), I'm slowly growing herbs for the winter and starting plants for next year.We've slept with the windows open all week. I love this weather!
Next week, after I take my last exam, I'll repot some of these herbs into larger pots. I don't want them getting all scraggly like the dill has gotten!
I've decided cumin is not a plant to start from seed. I bought new seed this year and none of it sprouted. I planted it multiple times, and the seeds all molded before they sprouted. But all the other seeds around them, of different herbs, sprouted without molding. 
The artichokes I planted to get a head start on next year's garden. I planted some this spring that have been outside all summer and they don't look near as healthy as these that I planted inside a couple weeks ago!

 I also started some wildflowers to put behind the greenhouse and in the beds in front of the house.

The only eggplant that has set on is on the plant that I did not use fertilizer on. The other plants are twice as large but haven't bloomed. I applied fertilizer twice, at the interval and amount as suggested on the package. To remember which plants had fertilizer, I only fertilized the ones with the identification tags. So one out of every 4 peppers, one out of every 2 tomatoes were fertilized. Same thing happened with the tomatoes; the ones that weren't fertilized produced more tomatoes. I think the fertilizer I used had too high of a nitrogen content, but it was stuff I had sitting around and wanted to use up. Guess I'll find a different fertilizer for next year!

Since it was cool this week, I put several plants in the greenhouse. Left to right: Golden Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary.

These are the four surviving artichokes out of the dozen or so that sprouted this spring. See how small they are in comparison to the others that I started inside recently?

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Turkey burgers and Garden update

I think it's time to pick the artichokes!!!




Oh my gosh. First Lady Obama has amazing taste!


On of the recipes I had on the list for the week was Michelle's Turkey Burgers with Lemon Mayonnaise, from Food & Wine July 2010. There are so many flavors in this burger and just a little bit of a kick. And it's a good thing I ate it with my cooking apron still on, because it was a little bit messy!

3 Tbsp canola oil (I used olive oil)
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 c finely chopped celery (I used 3 stalks of celery)
1/2 c finely chopped Granny Smith apple (I used a whole apple, cored)
2 scallions, thinly sliced (forgot to buy these, so I used about 1 tsp of fresh onion chives from the garden)
1 small canned chipotle in adobo, minced (these are spicy and I liked that, so I used 2)
1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey breast
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp lemon zest
salt and pepper
1/3 c mayonnaise

In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of the oil and cook the onion until tender and golden, about 25 minutes. Remove the onions and place in a bowl. (Next time, I'll cook these at the same time as the burgers)
Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in the skillet and cook the celery and apple until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool.
Add the chipotle, turkey, parsley, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 tsp of lemon zest. Mix together and form into patties. (The recipe says four patties, but I made 6)
Cook in a skillet with the remaining oil. (This time I used 85/15 turkey burger and really didn't need the oil.)

In a small bowl mix the mayo and 1 tsp of lemon zest. (I also added 2 minced garlic cloves.)

I ate the burger on a potato bun with homegrown lettuce, the lemon mayo and the grilled onions.

The Hubs' verdict: make these again!

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Artichokes!

Yesterday as I was planting green beans I discovered the lone artichoke plant actually has two artichokes on it! We'll see how this artichoke plant does in the coming weeks, but I think what I'm going to do is plant artichoke seeds in the greenhouse. Artichokes need a long growing season, or they will fruit the second year. So I'm thinking their first year can be in the greenhouse and then I'll transplant them outside next spring.

Today I planted Charentais melon, Marketmore 76 cucumbers, Butternut Rogosa Violina Giola squash and Fordhook acorn squash. I also planted Kentucky Wonder pole beans in the squash bed and put in some bamboo stakes for them. I sprinkled some marigolds in some hanging baskets.

I transplanted the tomatoes and peppers to the garden. I "ordered" some eggplant plants from a coworkers wife when I was at the farmer's market. She has a nursery but she left all the eggplant at home. I asked her to send some with her husband to work tomorrow.

This morning I picked 12 oz of strawberries, which brings the year's total to  49.5 oz.

 

Here's the bigger artichoke. It's probably golf ball size.

The smaller one is harder to see because it's only about the size of a marble. It's directly below the larger one.

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