Blog-Hop Recipes

I love food. I don't know if its the Italian in me, or just because I love cooking and baking(and because I'm so thankful to always have food in my house!), but I really do like food! I am so excited to share a couple recipes and get some great new ideas from you! 

Artichoke Dip

My aunt was the one who introduced us to the wonders and delights of artichoke dip. Even if you aren't an fan of artichokes and/or mayonnaise, combining them with the cheese and garlic is SO GOOD. We weren't able to find our recipe to I had to google it. Although I haven't actually used this recipe, I tweaked it a little to match the partial recipe I have in my head. Be prepared for people to stand around waiting for it to come out of the oven,then eating it before it cools down because they don't want to share it with others. I have seen this first-hand so I know its very possible. I've also seen said impatient people burn their tongues doing this.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

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14-ounce jars artichoke hearts

2 cups Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise (regular or low fat)

2 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spoon into one or two shallow, oven-proof baking dishes. Bake the dip until golden on top and heated all the way through, about 15 minutes.

(The dip can be heated in the microwave if you need to warm it up faster.) Serve with crackers or small pieces of bread.

Slow-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken

If you love garlic and lemon, this recipe is right up your alley(or right into your oven, but whatever). Its easy to make and comes out so delectable.

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1 chicken(3 1/2 to 4 lbs.) cut into 10 pieces

1 head garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
2 lemons, cut into chunky eighths
fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
10 TLBS white wine
black pepper


1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Put the chicken pieces into a roasting tin and add garlic cloves, lemon chunks and the thyme; just roughly pull the leaves off the stalks, leaving some intact for strewing over later.
3. Add the oil and using your hands mix everything together, then spread the mixture out, making sure all the chicken pieces are skin side up.
4. Sprinkle over the white wine and grind on some pepper, then cover tightly with foil and put in the oven to cook, at flavour-intensifying low heat, for 2 hours.
5. Remove the foil from the roasting tin, and turn up the oven to 400 degrees
6. Cook the uncovered chicken for another 30-45 minutes, by which time the skin on the meat will have turned golden brown and the lemons will have begun to scorch and caramelise
at the edges.

I like to serve this as it is, straight from the roasting tin: so just strew with your remaining thyme and dole out.