Guilt-Free Spinach and Artichoke Dip

For my niece’s birthday party last weekend, I made a Guilt-Free Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Bethenny Frankle’s book Skinnygirl Dish. This dip was a big success, and I think almost everyone loved it. I modified it slightly for the ingredients I had available, but you can find the original recipe on Bethenny’s website.

Image from Bethenny's website

Ingredients:
-- 1 can of artichokes (about 9 ounces) well drained
-- 1 box spinach (about 9 ounces), defrosted and liquid drained
-- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-- 1/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
-- 1/4 container (8 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese
-- 2 tablespoons lowfat mayonnaise
-- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
-- 1 clove garlic, minced
-- 3/4 teaspoon salt
-- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
-- 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce (or more if you like it hot)

Directions:
Defrost the spinach in the refrigerator overnight (or in the microwave like I did), then drain in a colander in the sink or over a bowl. After drained, press with paper towels to get rid of any extra moisture that would dilute the dip’s flavor.

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine all the ingredients except 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese into a large bowl or into a food processor (I used the food processor). Blend or pulse until mostly smooth but leave some artichoke chunks for texture.

Pour the mixture into an oven-proof dish or casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and just starting to bubble.

Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm with thin slices of baguette, raw vegetables, baked tortilla chips, crackers or pretzel sticks.