Dips of All Kinds

We had a great weekend- I sure hope all of my readers had as wonderful of a weekend as we did.  We had a fantastic time visiting with family, and were saddened when our time to leave came upon us. We all spent a fair amount of time visiting, playing, and eating.  It seemed like there was a lot of eating… but how else would a holiday get-together be?  Thankfully, it was mostly healthy eating.  There were definitely treats, but for the most part there were plenty of fruits and vegetables and the most fantastic fish-fry featuring freshly caught fish. Yum! The S’more Bars were definitely a hit and I’ll be repeating that one many times over.

There also were a few kinds of “dipping” going on.  The first kind of dipping was discovered by Abigail.  While she had been looking forward to swimming and playing in the river, I don’t think even she realized how much fun she would have.  She was literally the first one in the water both days, and the last to get out.  She completely conquered a fear of having her head under the water, and took a step forward in learning how to swim.  Perhaps most spectacularly, she hopped onto the tube and went for a ride behind the boat.  While she was nervous about it at first, it didn’t take long before she was ear-to-ear grinning the entire time.  I daresay she grew up a little in the few days we were away from home.  Here she is jumping off the dock into the water without a care in the world.

Then there was Zander.  That boy maybe spent 5 minutes in the water before deciding it simply wasn’t for him.  Whether it was too cold, or simply the fact that he could see crayfish all over, no one knows, but we do know that he spent the weekend playing with the water rather than in it.   He had a blast fishing- although he didn’t catch any fish, he enjoyed casting out his line and reeling it back in.  He also tried his hand at cray-fishing, and was really intrigued by those crabby water bugs.  He took several opportunities to sit in the kayaks as well, but only when they weren’t in the water, of course.

The other kind of dipping going on was the vegetable dip that I had brought along, and everyone inhaled.  Whenever we go somewhere for a few days and we’re going to be eating with a group, I always make sure that I bring along plenty of things that my kids will eat.  Fruit is always a sure thing, as are vegetables with dip.  They love raw vegetables, and will pile a plate full, happily munching on those crispy, crunchy sticks, coins, and flowerets.  I decided that I would also take a spinach dip for vegetables, and while I can buy a few brands that are okay, I opted to make my own and give it a few personal tweaks.

When I make a spinach dip, there is one ingredient that truly makes it a spinach dip- and that is the packet of vegetable soup mix.  That soup mix adds the fantastic flavor that is indicative of spinach dip, as well as the flecks of fun color throughout.  The soup mix that I rely on completely for this task is the Knorr Vegetable Recipe mix.  You can find this little packet in the soup aisle, and while Lipton also makes a veggies soup mix, I find theirs to be too salty and just not as good.  Trust me- reach for the yellow and green packet.

I follow the directions on the back of the package somewhat.  I use the proportions of mayo and sour cream, although I use canola oil mayo, and low-fat organic sour cream as my dairy.  I also don’t measure the mayo, simply adding a few scoops that look like about 1 cup of mayo.  I leave out the water chestnuts and green onions called for on the packet, and instead I add my own ingredients.  Specifically, I add one can of chopped artichoke hearts, and one small package of feta cheese.  These two things make this spinach dip different from everyone else’s variation, and also make it pretty darn good.  If I have them on hand, sometimes I also add some sun-dried tomatoes, but this time I left them out.  The key to this dip is resting time.  It needs at least two hours in the fridge to combine, and overnight is even better.  That makes this Spinach Dip an excellent candidate for travelling with, as well as pot-lucking with.

Spinach Dip

for use with vegetables,crackers, or bread.

1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix

1 cup canola mayonnaise

16 ozs low-fat sour cream

1 (4 oz) package crumbled feta cheese

1 package frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 can small artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Mix together well until everything is intermingled and well-combined.  Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to a seal-able container.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight to allow the veggies to soften and the flavors to develop.  Serve with vegetables for dipping, or crackers, bread cubes, etc.  This dip makes an excellent filling for a bread bowl, and is also a delicious sandwich or wrap spread- top with sliced tomatoes, sprouts, romaine, cucumber and olives.