Three Cheese Artichoke Dip

You cannot go wrong with any kind of artichoke or cheese dip in our house. We'll eat it up! Long story, but our old grocery store used to sell this cheese artichoke dip in the deli section a few times a year and we loved it. They stopped selling it and we would always go back to see if it would be there by some miracle. So ever since then, we've been trying to replicate it. This recipe isn't the same, but it's still very good so I wanted to share.

Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
• 8 oz. block of softened cream cheese
• 1 cup mayo (I'm not big on mayo, so I would suggest a little less if you don't like it that much)
• 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (we used low-fat)
• dash of worcestershire sauce
• salt & pepper
• dippers such as crackers, veggies, bread, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, soften the cream cheese with a spatula.

Add in the mayo and mix until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and stir together.

Transfer the dip to a 9x9 baking dish.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Serve hot.

I dipped in some leftover french bread and it was really good!

DIY Sew a Fleece Shopping Cart Cover

Thank you to Crafty Gemini for this great video tutorial!

I followed her directions, but I also added an extra layer of padding between the front and back piece of fabric. Connor is pretty small, so he needs some extra padding to fit into a lot of the seats. The cover works great on all the carts we've tried so far and the fleece also comes in handy if you need a blanket in the car on a cold day.

Healthy Oatmeal Carrot Sandwich Cookies

I figured if I bake desserts that are healthier, I can eat more of them. Am I right?
I saw this recipe in an issue of Parents magazine and wanted to give it a try.

Ingredients (slightly adapted by me)

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots (about 3 medium-sized carrots)
  
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt, ginger, and nutmeg.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the oil, sugars, egg, flour mixture, oats, carrots, and raisins.

Make tablespoon balls of dough and place them onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake each sheet for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Remove from the over and let cool.

For filling, mix the cream cheese and maple syrup. Spread about 1 tablespoon filling on the flat side (bottom) of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches.

The verdict: We felt like the cream filling wasn't sweet enough, but of course, it's supposed to be healthy. If you want a little sweeter filling, I would suggest adding more maple syrup or a little sugar. Or just forget the cream filling because the cookies were really good just dipped in milk!

Work Cubical Photo Display

A couple months ago, I blogged about looking for ideas on a creative way to display photos at work. My desk is quickly becoming covered in baby photos and I need a way to keep them looking nice. After some different trials and spray painting gone wrong, this was my final decision.

I used some hemp (thanks to my coworker who was cleaning out her childhood bedroom) and some clothespins to hang them from my cube wall. I love that I have room to add two more rows as I accumulate more photos. It looks really organized and everyone comments on it when they walk by!