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Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip

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This Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip is heaven on a cracker, baguette, or by the spoonful. With just seven simple ingredients, you can make this cheesy, creamy, spinach-y, artichoke-y, restaurant-style dip at home!

This Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip is heaven on a cracker, baguette, or by the spoonful. With just seven simple ingredients, you can make this cheesy, creamy, spinach-y, artichoke-y, restaurant-style dip at home!

I tend to have a flair for the dramatic. I don’t hide that fact and I kind of really love it. My life, my stories, my everything is just a little more fun because of my love for dramatic tales. However, when I tell you that this Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe is life altering, believe you me, I’m not being dramatic…at all! It’s just that good!

Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

You know that fancy-pants restaurant spinach artichoke dip you get when you go out? Yea, that’s got nothing on this. NOTHING! OK, maybe something, but this is so much better. Plus, you only need seven ingredients and a little bit of time to make this version…so there’s that too. I’m calling this a win and I want you to join my team. Stay home, save money, wear your jammies while you gorge eat your restaurant-style dip at home. No judging here!

This Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip is heaven on a cracker, baguette, or by the spoonful. With just seven simple ingredients, you can make this cheesy, creamy, spinach-y, artichoke-y, restaurant-style dip at home!

Whether you’re tailgating, just enjoying a day of appetizers and small bites instead of a big meal, or headed to a pot luck, this recipe is for you! All of this cheesy, creamy, spinach-y, artichoke-y goodness dipped on a cracker or smeared on a baguette is simply irresistible. Plus, spinach + artichokes = healthy snacking, no? Maybe not, but it’s OK to treat yourself from time to time and this is the treat I choose!

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Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip
Author: 
Recipe type: Dip / Party Food
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1 10-oz box/bag frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and liquid removed
  • 8 oz (one block) cream cheese, softened
  • ⅔ cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp light mayo
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, artichokes, and spinach. Stir to combine making sure to break up the spinach to avoid clumps.
  3. Add softened cream cheese and stir to combine completely.
  4. Stir in sour cream, mayo, and garlic.
  5. Transfer to an 8x8" or round clear baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the top is starting to brown.
  6. Serve with your favorite crackers, pita chips, or baguettes.

That simple, that good, and no need to get dressed up or spend a lot of money. Enjoy this dip for all of the special (or not so special) occasions in your life. When you serve this Life-Altering Spinach Artichoke Dip, every day’s a party. Enjoy!

The Best Low Sodium Cheese Steak Sandwiches

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Just so you know, I received some amazing soapstone cookware from UncommonGoods that allowed me to make the best Low Sodium Cheese Steak Sandwiches in under 30 minutes and share the recipe here with you today!

Heart Healthy Cheese Steak Sandwiches

With the perfect mix of fresh and frozen foods, and the help of some magical soapstone cookware, these Low Sodium Cheese Steak Sandwiches are a satisfying and healthy weeknight meal that can be on your table in less than 30 minutes. Sautéed fresh onions, mushrooms, and peppers, along with glorious melted cheese, sit atop steak patties on  a toasted bun covered in spicy mustard. Stop drooling. I know. This might just be the perfect meal, right? Something you’d find at your favorite deli? One of those greasy tabu indulgences that you only get to enjoy once a year? Yea, those.

But today’s your lucky day. You know why? Because this amazing sandwich is NOT greasy, it’s incredibly economical, it houses all of the required food groups (you’re welcome, moms), it’s low in sodium (your heart can thank me now), AND it all comes together in less than 30 minutes…in one pan. Seriously, if you’re a ninja in the kitchen, this meal will be on the table in 20 minutes, but I have to give you that fluff factor so you don’t hold me to that 20-minute thing.

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The Best Low Sodium Cheese Steak Sandwiches
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Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 6 Steak-umm® Sliced Steaks
  • ½ Red Onion, sliced
  • 1 Bell Pepper, sliced thin
  • 1 cup Mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
  • 4 slices Pepper Jack Cheese
  • 4 Cheese Steak (or sub) Buns
  • 1 tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard, optional
Instructions
  1. In a soapstone sauté pan, heat avocado oil on low heat.
  2. Slice vegetables and place in pan with spices, heat for 5 minutes until tender, and remove from pan and set aside.
  3. Place 2 steak slices in pan and cook on one side for 1 minute, flip, cook another 15 seconds, then cut into slices.
  4. Add ¼ of the vegetable mixture back into pan with the steak slices and top with one slice of cheese; heat until melted.
  5. Place cheese steak mixture on a toasted bun with mustard (optional) and enjoy the awesome.
  6. Repeat for each sandwich.
Notes
The average Cheese Steak Sandwich has approximately 1200 mg sodium, 600 calories, 60 grams carb, 90 mg cholesterol.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 sandwich Calories: 517 Fat: 30 g Carbohydrates: 37 g Sodium: 492 mg Cholesterol: 70 mg

Oh, so you say YOU can cook the perfect Cheese Steak Sandwich and you can make yours lower in sodium than traditional recipes too? Good for you and I’d love to try your recipe (please share your recipe with me), but I’m going to be pretty bold and pompous here when I tell you that I’m pretty certain that yours can’t cook as evenly and perfectly as mine. Don’t get mad. It’s not you, it’s me and my new magical cookware that cooks perfectly and evenly every time, even without my help.

Cheese Steak in Soapstone Cookware

Perfectly sautéed steak patties, red onions, bell peppers, and fresh mushrooms, all covered in melted cheese in one beautiful soapstone pan from UncommonGoods that’s easy to clean up and cooks effortlessly and evenly every single time. You see, these pans give family meals an Old World upgrade with their handcrafted beauty (as in, they’re so pretty, I leave them on my countertop as decorations when I’m not using them). Highlighted with hammered copper handles, this soapstone design serves as a timeless oven (or stove top) to table essential. Soapstone emits no odor and is able to withstand temperatures of up to 1832ºF (you never cook that high, no need to look that up), making it a versatile addition to your cooking arsenal. I’m in love and I don’t care who knows (Elf reference intended…it’s always Christmas here)!

Now, before I leave you with your drooling, I know you can Google soapstone cookware (YOU NEED THIS STUFF) and find it a little bit cheaper than my set (yes, I have a set…don’t hate), but there are reasons why I associate myself with certain brands and I do my homework so you don’t have to. Don’t buy from those other guys (PLEASE?!?!) because UncommonGoods is committed to offering you a creative and exciting merchandise assortment (they have SO much stuff) and are working with their suppliers – from artists to small manufacturers – to make their products in a more socially and environmentally responsible manner. AND they have a Better to Give Program that they started in 2001, which allows you to select a non-profit organization to receive a $1 donation from them at checkout. You’re welcome.

If you think you have the “perfect” Cheese Steak Sandwich recipe, please share it with me here. If you think your cookware for your perfect sandwich is better than mine, I challenge you to a cook-off. Now, what other low sodium recipes can we cook in our new cookware? I’d love to try your recipes, so be sure to share!

Grown Up Grilled Cheese with Shredded BBQ Chicken

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Grown Up Grilled Cheese with Low Sodium Shredded BBQ Chicken
Grilled Cheese and BBQ Chicken Sandwich

 

Happy National Grilled Cheese Month! It’s no surprise to me that my birthday month (shush…I’m not telling you how old I’ll be) is also graced with this dubious title. I mean, seriously…grilled cheese? Second only to pizza in my book. I remember begging for grilled cheese sandwiches as a child, and eating them in college with a hot bowl of tomato soup. Personally, I’ll never outgrow the traditional grilled cheese sandwich, but since I know some people do, including my husband, I look for ways to make my childhood favorite a little more grown up. This recipe for Grown Up Grilled Cheese with Shredded BBQ Chicken (low sodium of course) was B’s lunch today and he couldn’t stop raving. Yes, it’s a simple recipe, but comfort food is often the most simple, and the most satisfying.

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Grilled Cheese with Shredded BBQ Chicken
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Recipe type: Lunch
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup shredded chicken breast
  • ¼ cup BBQ Sauce
  • 1 slice mozzarella cheese
  • 1 slice colby jack cheese
  • 2 slices whole wheat bread
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
  1. Mix shredded chicken and BBQ sauce together.
  2. Brush outer sides of both pieces of bread with avocado oil.
  3. In a frying pan, layer one slice of bread oil side down, then one slice of cheese, then chicken, then the other slice of cheese, and finally the other slice of bread oil side up.
  4. Cook over medium-low heat on one side for about 5 minutes, flip and cook for 5 minutes on the other side.

Grilled Cheese with Low Sodium BBQ Chicken Sandwich

This simple lunch is hearty and satisfying even to the big eaters in your family like B. Using Avocado Oil instead of butter makes the bread less soggy and allows for more even frying without burned or uncooked spots. If you want to lower the sodium for this grilled cheese, make a Low Sodium BBQ Sauce like we do instead of using a store-bought variety. Grilled cheese sandwiches are the way to go at lunch time. They’re so simple to make and the possibilities are endless. What’s your favorite grilled cheese recipe? I’d love to try it!