While the greater part of the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area is under a monstrous 54 inches of snow, I’m not even attempting to dig out. Instead, I’m going to chronicle my newest appetizer recipe thanks to my handy-dandy Crock Pot!
Now, let me preface this by telling the tale of last year’s Superbowl. My roommate Julia and I, in our utter foodie-ness, decided to make the atypical football food for our annual gathering of pigskin debauchery. What, you may ask, did Julia and I come up with?
Crab-filled wontons, and chicken nubbins wrapped in bacon and covered in cinnamon. (modified Paula Deen recipe). Oh and it was all tantalizing and mouth-watering. If there was a competition, we would’ve won best house food for Superbowl.
This year, due to snowmaggedon we were limited in our grocery choices thanks to the epic clean-out of any and all essential ingredients at the grocery store.
So, peeking into our freezer what did I find but a copious amount of frozen chopped spinach?
In leaps and bounds I trekked in a snow suit and backpack to the grocery store in horrendous unplowed road conditions…which, in reality, only took me about 15 minutes.
There, I found the few things needed for a scrumptious treat.
- cream cheese (3-6 oz. depending on serving size)
- sour cream (16 oz.)
Back at the house, we had the rest of the necessary ingredients:
- olive oil (approx. 3 tbsp)
- shallots
- garlic (add to taste, the more garlic the better)
- chopped spinach (1/2 lb. to 1 lb.)
- large onion (I find Spanish onions to be the best, they’re sweeter.)
- salt
- pepper
- mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, or ANY two or three kinds of soft melty cheese you have
From there, you can do this one of two ways: pan cooked all the way (served cold or hot), OR Crock Pot it.
Either way, it all begins the same:
- In a 12-inch frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat
- Add thawed spinach to pan once smoking hot (if you don’t thaw the spinach, it’ll be horrible. hot oiled pan + frozen crystals = disaster and burns)
- Put heat on low, add sour cream, cream cheese, shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.
- From here, I transfer the mixture to a pre-heated Crock Pot on medium.
- Add cheese, stir, and serve.
**For an extra kick, warm up pita or tortilla chips in the oven at 200° F.
Photo to come soon!
