Because, Super Bowl.

While these aren’t something you would necessarily "dip" into since piling carbs on top of more carbs seems a smidge excessive. But, seriously though, YOU DO YOU. I won't slap a tortilla chip outta your hand or anything. But, if any of you plan on tucking into a more traditional dinner while watching the game this Sunday these are damn near perfect for the occasion.

Oh man, these are so freaking tasty. They taste so similar to that famous dip, but don’t have the globs and globs of mayonnaise and sour cream most recipes call for. The potatoes provide the entire base, I just added some cheese sauce to make them creamy and taste closer to the traditional dip.

They’re best paired with a simple main, since they’re on the richer side. But let’s be real, Superbowl Sunday isn’t one of those diet days.

Here are the Friday Faves for this week:

this is how sassy i *wish* my blog was

seven vegetables that are in season now

to add to my to do list

this reminds me, I have to start composting!

cauliflower, not carbs!

also on my to do list

PREACH!

my generation

oh and p.s. anyone want a bean-free hummus recipe?

Spinach Artichoke Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks

1 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces spinach

1 can artichokes, drained

1 cup heavy cream

¾ cup shredded cheddar

cayenne, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

additional ½ cup shredded cheddar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, cover potatoes with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

While potatoes are cooking, melt down half the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then add the garlic. Saute garlic until fragrant and then add the spinach. Cook spinach until wilted, less than 5 minutes. Remove spinach and garlic from pan and set aside. In the same pan, melt down the last half of butter. Add artichokes to pan. Cook artichokes just until heated and beginning to caramelize a bit.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan, heat your heavy cream over a medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat only until just hot enough to melt shredded cheddar cheese.

Once your potatoes are done, drain the water from them and then mash them best as possible, you may need to add a splash or two of cream to get them going. Once mashed, transfer them to a casserole dish.

Stir the spinach, artichokes, and cheese sauce into the potatoes until combined well.

Sprinkle remaining cheddar on the top and throw into the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8 as a side

So this one time I made this chicken and then had a ridiculous amount of grapes and olives left over. After the chicken was long gone, I still had to come up with some sort of lunch for work, you know, all adult-like. I stole some baby spinach from the boyfriend and a salad was born. Paired it with some hard boiled eggs for the protein factor and voila! Lunch! I wish it was always that easy.

We’ve got punchy, salty, fermenty olives, sweet black grapes, spicy pepperoncinis, more salty but creamy feta, crunchy toasted sunflower seeds, and a hefty squeeze of puckery lemon.

You couldn’t have more flavors and textures going on at once, and it is damn pleasing.

Being both a supertaster and a recovering sectional eater, I never would have thought that a salad such as this would ever grace my plate.

Supertaster? Huh? Yea, it totally exists and helped to explain much of my life prior to learning about it. Over the years, I’ve been able to train my palate to be more accepting of overpowering flavors --- anything fermented, vinegar, red onion, any and all things anise flavored, bitter, sour, sweet, salty --- everything is just more intense. I’m better with textures than I used to be, but I didn’t eat avocado for the better part of two decades because I couldn’t get over the weird butteriness of it. And until I was about 21, nothing . could . touch . I was a big fan of things “on the side.”

While I am still able to find that ONE piece of stray arugula that snuck it’s way into my salad bar romaine, LOATHE, I’ve gotten better! I could drink my homemade vinegar based dressings, I pickled red onions this summer, and I’ve come a long way in the mixing and matching of meals. You can look for no further proof than this salad.

Spinach Salad with Grapes & Olives

Ingredients:

8 ounces spinach

1 cup mixed pitted olives, halved

1 cup red or black seedless grapes, halved

¼ cup crumbled feta

¼ cup sunflower seeds

2 to 3 pepperoncini peppers, sliced

juice of half a lemon

good drizzle of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Assemble spinach, olives, grapes, feta, sunflower seeds, and pepperoncinis in a large serving bowl.

Squeeze the half of the lemon over the top of the salad (or like, be responsible, and do this in separate bowl to avoid rogue seeds), give a good drizzle of olive oil over top, and then do salt and pepper to taste. Go light on the salt at first due to the feta and olives, don’t want it to get too salty.

Toss all ingredients until well combined.

Serves 6 as a starter or side