Baked Artichoke Dip

I've had my eye on this Baked Artichoke Dip from 101 Cookbooks for quite awhile.  I'm a sucker for dips and anytime I can find a healthier version I'll give it a try.  I will definitely be making this again, although I will make a few changes next time.  I will leave some artichoke chunks in the puree, add spinach, a little more cheese on top, and add more cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes.  And now that my husband is a fan, I won't have to hide the fact that there is tofu in the recipe!

Eating and Drinking Our Way Through Munich

It's been a busy week with very little cooking so I figured now is good time to give my Munich update. We began our trip in Amsterdam, which I posted about here, and from there took the overnight train to Munich.  We spent most of our three days in Munich eating meat and hopping around to different bierhauses and biergartens, but also took a day trip to Füssen to see the picturesque Neuschwanstein Castle.

Now onto the food and beer.  

Barbecue Rubbed Pork Chops

These Barbecue Rubbed Pork Chops from Cooking Light are a staple in my house. They make for a quick weeknight meal and are very juicy and flavorful. I stock up my freezer with pork chops when they are on sale, and I have all of the other ingredients in my pantry so the lack of planning required is a big bonus for me. The only changes I make to the recipe are that I add extra brown sugar if I'm in the mood to make it a little sweeter or extra ground red pepper if I want something spicier, I add more rub each time I turn the meat, and if I have onions on hand I slice them up and grill them with the meat and rub.

I usually serve this with the grilled sweet potatoes from this post or just microwave a sweet potato (poke some holes with a fork and microwave 5 minutes, flip it over and cook for 5 more minutes), but tonight I wanted to make whatever side I could find at the small farmers market outside of my building. So red potatoes and random ingredients from my fridge resulted in mashed red potatoes with spinach and mascarpone cheese. The recipe is below.

Eating & Drinking Our Way Through Amsterdam

My husband and I recently took a trip to Amsterdam and Munich and on top of all of the wonderful museums, castles, and palaces we spoiled ourselves with delicious food and beer.  My cousin lives in Amsterdam so we were lucky enough to stay with him and he was able to show us where to find all of this delicious food and drink.

Naan Pizza

I made two variations of naan pizza for dinner last night; one meatball and spinach (because I had some leftover meatballs begging to be eaten in the freezer) and one zucchini, tomato, and onion. Both were really tasty and it was tough deciding which one I wanted a second slice of, so I opted for both.

Naan pizzas are a great solution if you don't know what kind of pizza to make, the smaller size allows you to make several different kinds and it's quicker and easier than making pizza dough. If you can't find naan, use flatbread. Below are the ingredients and directions, but you can of course use any combination that inspires you.  I also refer to 'grilling', but I live an apartment so am forced to use a grill pan which doesn't give the taste that a real grill does.