You only came for the food?

Shooter and I host our church small group at our house on Wednesday evenings. We had taken the summer off but started back last week. I didn't make my normal start of the series dip, I tried something new that was AWE.SOME! I also made up a recipe for last night that was a hit too. Unfortunately I have no pictures...but I do have recipes! That's what you came here for anyway, right? The food?

Hot Mexican Spinach Dip
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced and softened
1 (2.25 ounce) can chopped black olives, drained
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup evaporated milk (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a medium baking dish, mix together salsa, chopped spinach, Monterey Jack cheese, cream cheese, black olives, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Add milk a little bit at a time (if needed) until you get a nice creamy consistency.
Bake mixture in the preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until bubbly.

So...I was on a spinach dip roll....I loved the mexican one so much that I thought, well, I'll tackle the Spinach Artichoke dip. I looked at scads of recipes, and no I don't know how many that is exactly, and couldn't find any without a gajillion (and yes, that's lots) of ingredients. I like it simple, man! So here's my easy, peasy take on Spinach Artichoke Dip, ladies and germs.

Laura's Easy Spinach and Artichoke Dip
2 10 ounce packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
1 14 ounce can of quartered artichoke hearts, chopped
1 16 ounce container of light cream cheese, softened
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix
1 1/2 cups of italian cheese blend, divided
salt
pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine together the spinach, artichokes and cream cheese. The mixture will be very thick. Add evaporated milk a little at a time until you reach a nicely creamy consistency that isn't runny but yet stirs easily (I added in about a 1/4 cup in all). Add in 3/4 cup of the italian cheese blend. Add salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes. Add in 2 tablespoons of the dip packet. Stir well and then transfer to an 8x8 baking pan.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

This is one of the best dips I've ever had. It's easy and it's so yummy!! I'm going to experiment with a little onion in it next time and see how that goes. Next week at small group, though, we're back to the Buffalo Chicken Dip...man that stuff is GOOD!!!! The recipe is here somewhere...I'm too lazy to link to it. Sue me!

Later lovelies!
L.