Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Something I just discovered opened up my whole world to cooking simple recipes at home while avoiding all that jiggly, processed cheese sauce stuff.  A bechamel sauce!  A bechamel sauce is one of the French cuisine mother sauces made with a rue of butter and flour, and milk.  Once you learn this basic white sauce, your whole world can be opened up to all kinds of cheese sauces, like a macaroni and cheese base (make something healthy, not from a blue box)!  But today is about a favorite cheesy, gooey, melty, luscious dish of my husband and I's:

Spinach Artichoke Dip!

Super quick and easy, this was made at 11pm while we were watching Cutthroat Kitchen and was finished before the first round ended.  You can substitute the cheeses for a favorite of yours, but this was what we had in our fridge.  We will be experimenting more later!

Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Makes 4-6 servings

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 package thawed frozen spinach (drained)

1 can of artichoke hearts (quartered and drained)

1 1/2 cups grated gouda cheese (husband's favorite!)

1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

1 1/2 cup of milk (2 cups if you like your dip less thick)

1 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 clove of minced garlic if you have it)

1/4 worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

First we want to get everything prepped and do our mise en place, which is French meaning "putting in place". This makes it much easier and a lot less chaotic when cooking especially since you'll need to be standing by the stove for most of the cooking.  Or if you're lucky enough to have a helper (like my husband), he can stir while I do last minute prep or cleaning.  Start by grating all your cheese and setting aside.  Next, drain all the water out of your thawed spinach by putting it in two layers of paper towel and squeeze all the liquid out and set aside.  Drain the can of artichoke hearts and cut into quarters (or smaller pieces if desired), and set aside.  Now we can start cooking!

In a pan, melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute to cook out that raw flour taste.  If you're using minced garlic, add this after cooking the flour and cook for a minute or so to soften.  Next, gradually whisk in your milk.  Do this slowly and whisk constantly.  You want the texture to be creamy at first, and then once more milk is added, it'll thin out.  If you're using garlic powder instead of minced garlic, add it now.  Also add your worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste (I love pepper, so I add more!).  Here, you want to put aside your whisk and switch to a wooden spoon.  Stir slowly, but constantly for about 5-10 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Once thickened, turn the heat to 1 or simmer and slowly add in the cheese, little handfuls at a time while stirring in the cheese into the sauce with your wooden spoon.  The goal is to add the cheese slowly so that it all melts and turns into this luscious sauce with a velvety texture.  Once all your cheese has been added and it is all melty and gooey, stir in the spinach and artichoke until all combined and heated through.

Serve with tortilla chips and salsa!  So much goodness.. always a good late night snack!

Extra yummy tip:  Warm up the tortilla chips on a sheet pan in the oven at 400 for 5 minutes to get them warm and crispy before serving. 

Feel free to experiment with different cheeses!  Tomorrow I'm going to make this again but with gouda and asiago cheese for a new and different flavor!