Baked Spinach and Feta Dip

Movie night in our house is synonym with dips and chips, and yes with popcorn. Of course not everybody agrees on the same thing to snack on during the movie except when I make spinach dip.

Alexander especially loves spinach dip, every time I came from groceries and I have spinach in may bags he gets excited thinking is movie night again and we're having spinach dip. He refuses to understand that spinach can be used in other ways, like..... in mommy's salad. There is just one way to use spinach and that is in a dip. OK. I need to tell you that this dip is not fat free ( sigh) but it tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup ................................. light mayonnaise made with olive oil ( like Hellmann )

2 cups .............................. fat free sour cream

1 pkg ................................ vegetable soup mix ( like knorr)

500 gr ............................. fresh or frozen spinach

5 ....................................... green onions thinly sliced

1 clove............................. garlic minced

1/2 cup .......................... low fat crumbled feta cheese ( or regular )

1/2 cup .......................... shredded mozzarella cheese ( optional)

Pita cut in triangles to serve with, or, your favorite dippers.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In an oven dish mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, vegetable soup mix, onion, garlic and crumbled feta cheese. Set aside.

If you are using fresh spinach, bring a large pot with water to a boil. Add the spinach and boil for 3 to 4 minutes or until wilted. If using frozen spinach make sure is well thawed and chop finely.

Drain the spinach well and chop finely.

Add the spinach to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese ( I used muenster cheese ) or any other cheese you like and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread

I love making short bread. What's nat to love? Is easy to make, fast, fewer ingredients need it and usually I have everything on hand. If you are frequent reader or a follower of my blog you probably know that I love lemon, I incorporate lemon in almost everything (I can get away with). Those bars are buttery, lemony and the poppy seeds add a great crunch and attractive look. An easy dessert served with your afternoon tea.

Ingredients

1 cup.................................... unsalted butter softened ( 250 ml, or 2 sticks )

1 cup ................................... icing sugar sifted

2 cups ................................ all-purpose flour ( sifted)

2 tbsp ................................ poppy seeds

2 tbsp ............................... grated lemon zest

1 tbsp ............................... freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp .............................. granulated sugar to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Prepare an 9 inch square baking pan ungreased.

In a medium mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

Add flour,poppy seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice and mix well.

Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. I used the back of an sturdy plastic spatula. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Bake into the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until light brown around the edges. Cut wile still warm. Let cool completely in pan. Recut if necessary.

Serve with a cup of your favorite tea.

Enjoy!

Rustic Corn Bread

Autumn is just around the corner, you can feel it at night or early mornings there is a chill in the air that wasn't there a week ago. Also the anticipation of the first day of school. My boys are getting their backpacks out of the back of the closet, sharpening pencils, making the list of what they are missing or need replacing .... Yes, definitely autumn is around the corner.

Starting autumn my oven gets turned on more. Home made bread! That's what autumn brings more often to our house. My boys love home made bread, OK. they love home made everything, but bread is something they truly adore.

Corn bread of course is not a yeast bread, so it's much faster to make, but don't let that fool you

its delicious, and has so many variations. It can have a place at your dinner table without a question. Also when your press of time this is the way to go, no rising time, no kneading, 30 to 40 minutes and your bread is on the table. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 cup ..................................... cornmeal ( cornmeal comes in many grinds from coarse to fine, any kind of grind will do just make sure is yellow)

1 cup ..................................... all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ............................... baking powder

1/2 tsp .................................. baking soda

1/2 tsp .................................. fine sea salt ( or just table salt)

2 cups ................................... fresh corn kernels this is optional ( if you don't have fresh, frozen will work just as well. Just make sure you thaw and pat dry the corn before adding to the rest of the ingredients)

2 ............................................ large eggs.

1 1/2 tbsp ............................ honey or firmly packed brown sugar.

1 1/3 cups ............................ buttermilk

3 tbsp ................................... unsalted butter melted or vegetable oil.

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425˚F (22o˚C). Butter an 8 inch ( 20 cm)

cast-iron frying pan or an 8 inch square baking pan or oven proof dish.

In a bowl whisk together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda,salt and the corn kernels if using. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat the eggs on medium speed until blended. Add the honey (or brown sugar),buttermilk ( if you don't have butter milk this is an easy way to make it. Add 2 tbsp of white vinegar to a measuring cup and add enough milk to it to make one cup let rest for 10 minutes. Now you have buttermilk. For 1 1/3 cup of butter milk you will use about 2 1/2 tbsp of vinegar and the rest milk to complete 1 1/3 cups), and melted butter and beat until well blended.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean about 20 to 25 minutes. To get the nice color on top I usually put the broiler on for 30 to 40 seconds before I take the bread out of the oven. If you decide to do that please keep an eye on it could burn very easily.

Let the bread cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack. Serve warm.

As I said there are many variations to this bread.

Corn bread with red pepper and cheddar cheese.

Sauté a chopped red pepper in 1 tbsp of olive oil ( about 3 minutes). Add the sautéed pepper to the dry ingredients with 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese after 15 minutes of baking ( in this case don't put the broiler on).

Corn bread with sun-dried tomatoes and pistachios.

Add 1/2 cup of chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of pistachios to the dry ingredients. Bake as in the instructions.

Enjoy!