Appetizers/ HotApp

Hot Spinach Dip with Tomatoes

Not your ordinary spinach dip. No Artichokes in this one and one of my favorites.

How many dips can you name from your years of cooking. Onion dip was on top of my list and way back when I used Lipton Onion Soup mix to make it. I can only imagine what a homemade version would taste like; will have to give that a try. Mexican Cheese Dip was always a favorite also. Adventurous wasn’t in my vocabulary back then. I knew onion and cheese dip, that’s about it.

Then one day someone tried putting spinach and artichokes together; who would have ever thought of that back in the day. Aren’t you tired of spinach artichoke dip? You will see it on just about every restaurant menu, but my Hot Spinach Dip with Tomatoes has a little different twist to it with jalapenos and some fresh chopped tomatoes; and I love the homemade pita chips made with butter, lemon pepper and cumin, baked until nice and crunchy.

This dip has been one of my favorites for the last 25 years. When we first moved to Texas I bought a Creme de Colorado cookbook while on a ski trip to Colorado. I didn’t ski (after ski accident/surgery) so what else would I do but shop and look through cookbooks. Oh, I guess I did cook a little, shop, cook, and occasionally went snowmobiling.

Talk about an easy recipe, once you get things chopped up and the spinach squeezed out just mix it up with your hands or a big wooden spoon. In the past I always heated this in the microwave until it was hot and bubbly and then put it in a chafing dish. But the night I served this I heated it a little first in the microwave and then poured it into a casserole dish and finished it off in the oven. I wanted to make sure it stayed super hot until my guest arrived. Just in time for the superbowl.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Want another cool appetizer for a superbowl or any party; try my Shrimp Corndogs with Blueberry Mustard.

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Ingredients and grandson Donovan in the background (he was two then, 4 3/4 now). He’s always wanting to help in the kitchen and is such a sweet boy.

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Cut the pita into pieces and then separate. Put on cookie sheet and brush with the butter/cumin/lemon pepper mixture.

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Thaw the package of spinach and squeeze out all the water and put into a microwaveable bowl.

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Add in the cream cheese, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos.

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Grate the Monterey Jack cheese into the bowl.

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Mix with a spoon or put on some plastic disposable gloves and squish away until blended. Starting heating in the microwave and stir every 1-2 minutes until hot and bubbly.

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O, you can put the dip in an oven-proof dish and bake at 350° for about 45 minutes until hot and bubbly.

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Hot Spinach Dip with Tomatoes
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Ingredients
  1. 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
  2. 1 8 oz. package cream cheese
  3. ¾ cup onion, chopped
  4. 2 cups tomato, chopped
  5. 3 jalapeno pepper, minced
  6. 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
  7. ½ cup cream, to thin, if needed
  8. 1 package pita bread, cut into small
  9. wedges
  10. 2 sticks butter, melted
  11. 4 teaspoons cumin
  12. 4 tsp. lemon pepper
Instructions
  1. Thaw spinach and squeeze out all liquid. Mix spinach, cream cheese, onion, tomato, jalapeno peppers, Monterey Jack cheese and cream. Mix to blend. Put inbuttered baking dish and bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes or hot and bubbly.
  2. For pita chips, cut pita bread into wedges. Melt the butter and add cumin and lemon pepper. Brush pita chips with this mixture and bake in 300 degree oven until crisp. Serve with hot spinach dip.
Notes
  1. I love the pita chips made from scratch because of the cumin and lemon pepper. If you don't want to take the time to make these from scratch, just buy some bagged pita chips from the grocery. I was almost tempted to do that and then spray with some oil and sprinkle with the seasoning but instead I went the homemade route.
Adapted from Creme de Colorado Cookbook
Adapted from Creme de Colorado Cookbook
Rosemary and the Goat https://rosemaryandthegoat.com/

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