Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This is the best dip for watching the big game, holiday parties, or just for a good snack. I found this on the back of Knorr Vegetable recipe mix package. We served it with pieces of sourdough bread although it is also good with crackers. The combination of the spinach, artichokes, and cheese makes this a winner recipe. You can also find this recipe here at Knorr Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip recipe page.

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (about 6 oz.)
1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Spoon into a 2-quart casserole, then top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
Bake for 35 minutes or until dip is hot. Dip, dip hooray!

Spanakopita Dip: Substitute feta cheese for the cheddar and omit artichoke hearts. Spoon into mini phyllo cups and bake 8 minutes or until filling puffs.

MAKES 4 cups dip

5 Hour Spaghetti Sauce

This is a great recipe for those who love their crockpots. I make this quite often since it makes so much and I can freeze some after we have had our meal. It takes about 5-6 hours to simmer in the crock pot and after you add the noodles to the sauce, it makes a great meal just pennies a serving. Freeze the rest in freezer containers to have for future meals. It is a lot of slicing and dicing but the work is worth it. Pair up this spaghetti with garlic bread and salad and you have a great meal. You can also make large quantities of this if you grow your own tomatoes and process in a canner to make sauce for all year, instructions follow for that at the bottom. Now for the recipe:

5 Hour Spaghetti Sauce

4-6 Roma tomatoes, diced or you can use one can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
2 cans tomato paste
2 cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1-2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1-2 tsp salt
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (you can cut this down if you do not want such a strong garlic flavor)
1/2 green pepper, diced fine
1/2 red pepper, diced fine
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 small can sliced olives or 1/4 cup diced green olives
1/4 cup white wine, if desired
1 lb hamburger or Italian sausage, if desired

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and simmer on low for 5-6 hours. Cook hamburger or sausage about an hour before sauce is ready and add to sauce, if meat is desired. Serve over hot spaghetti noodles.

Freezing and canning instructions:
- Fill freezer containers leaving about 1 inch head space, label with date and contents and freeze for up to 3 months. Or you can process this is a boiling water bath for 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts to keep longer or if you make large quantities of sauce.

Variations:
- Add meatballs instead of hamburger or sausage and make meatball sandwiches
- Use this sauce with no meat for pizza sauce

Apple Raspberry Turnovers

I found these turnovers in a new magazine I picked up and made just a couple changes to it. The magazine I found this recipe in is called All You (October 24, 2008 issue)and you can find it at their website at www.allyou.com. It seems to be a pretty good magazine that is not expensive (magazines are getting so expensive these days).

I substituted my own raspberry freezer jam for store bought raspberry jam and instead of putting sprinkled sugar on top, I used a powdered sugar icing on top of the turnovers. The variations of this recipe will be at the bottom of this article.

Apple Raspberry Turnovers

1 medium apple; peeled, cored, and diced
2 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from one 17.5 oz package), thawed
1 large egg, slightly beaten

Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Combine apples, jam, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a separate small bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into an 8x12 inch rectangle. Cut pastry into 6 - 4 inch squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter (I used a pizza cutter and it worked better to keep the shape, the knife sort of pulled on the puff pastry)

Spoon some of apple mixture into center of each square, leaving a 1 inch border. Brush borders with beaten egg. Fold each square into a triangle and press edges with tines of a fork to seal (be sure to seal tightly). Using a sharp paring knife, cut 2 small steam vents in the top of each turnover. Sprinkle each turnover with cinnamon sugar. Place turnovers on lined baking sheet.

Bake until golden and puffed, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Variations:
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
- Instead of the cinnamon sugar, drizzle with powdered sugar icing consisting of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 5-6 drops of water and mix into a drizzling consistency (add more water depending on how thin you like your icing) you can make it thick and pipe it onto the turnovers to make them extra nice looking for special occasions.

Tips with the puff pastry:
- Check the label. IF you are using an all-butter puff pastry, freeze the turnovers for 15 minutes before baking. If you are using a puff pastry made with vegetable shortening, freezing isn't necessary.

Zucchini Relish

This is a great recipe for those gardeners who grow a lot of zucchini. This relish has great flavor, is easy to make, and compliments anything you put it on. Add some red peppers for color and this can easily be a family favorite condiment in your house like it is in my house. This recipe comes from my husband's granny's kitchen and it is soooo good!

Zucchini Relish

5 cups zucchini squash
2 cups onion

Put both in food processor and chop very fine. Sprinkle squash and onion with 1/8 cup salt and let stand overnight. Next morning, rinse well and let drain.

Mix together:
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/8 cup vinegar
1/2 Tbsp dry mustard
1/2 Tbsp celery seed
1/2 Tbsp tumeric powder
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 large green pepper or red pepper, chopped fine in food processor.

Stir well into squash/onion mixture. Cook slowly for 2 hours. Pack and seal in pint jars. Process for 5 minutes in boiling water canner. Set aside to cool and let jars seal. Can be kept up to 2 years in dry cool place.