Spinach Artichoke dip

This past weekend a good couple friend of ours, Z and M, hosted a Holiday Cocktail Party.  M made delicious food and we all had fun playing games and getting into the holiday cheer.  I tried to help her out by bringing an appetizer, using my go-to easy Spinach Artichoke Dip.  It's semi-healthy, using low fat sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese, but let's face it, it's not the most calorie conscious dish.  It is however, really tasty.

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP:

1 bag of frozen spinach, de-thawed and all the water is pressed out of it OR 1 bag of fresh spinach, wilted with some olive oil, salt and pepper
1/2 a bag of shredded low moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup of light sour cream (estimate on this one, it may be more or less depending on
2/3 cup of light mayonnaise
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of freshly cracked pepper
zest of 1/2 a lemon
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked off
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 can of artichokes in water, drained and chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all ingredients a bowl and place into a large Ramekin dish (those heavy, white, circular thingys). Bake for 30 minutes or so, till it's bubbly and starting to brown but cooked through. Serve with pita chips, bagel chips, crusty bread, whatever you have to devour with. Be careful, this is super addicting and you'll think that because it's better for you, you can consume more. This is one of my favorite dips and my friends all seem to agree.

Artichoke

The is a very simple straightforward artichoke appetizer with a yummy lemony buttery dipping sauce.

STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH A LEMON BUTTER DIPPING SAUCE:

2 Artichokes
1/2 a stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of lemon juice, preferably Meyer Lemon
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried dill

Snip off the tops of the pointy artichoke stems and cut of the top with a serrated knife. Take off the bottom of the artichoke so it stands on it's butt on it's own. Steam the artichokes for at least 45 minutes, depending on how big those suckers are. While waiting for the chokes to cool, melt the butter in the microwave carefully (I have had my fair share of exploding butter that goes all over the inside of the microwave). Add the rest of the ingredients, combine well, and partake in dipping the leaves of the chokes in the buttery goodness.