Hot Artichoke Dip

In the blogging world, today has been designated as Human Relief Blog Day, and a call was made to have all bloggers participate in an effort to aid the victims of Hurrican Katrina together. It’s the least I can do.

If you have a blog, please join me and other bloggers and register to participate in Blog for Relief Day and blog about it. As I’m typing this now, nearly 1,200 bloggers have answered the call from 14 different countries, and together we have raised over $134,000. We CAN make a difference.

When you donate, if you’d like to have your donation amount added to the grand total tally for Blog for Relief Day (or say that my blog sent you), you can record your donation here (scroll down once you click on the link). You can also see how much money bloggers have raised by checking in here.

You can choose any number of well-known, reputable charities to make a donation to. I chose the American Red Cross and the Houston SPCA, who, so far, has taken in over 300 animals that were rendered homeless with the Hurricane.

At a time when so many of us feel helpless, this is an opportunity to reach out to our Southern states and help them continue their rescue mission and help them rebuild. Even the smallest donation helps, and spreading the word does also. Give up your Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino just today, or your movie on Saturday night and pledge the money to a charity you feel passionate about. If you donate, please also check with your employer to see if they have a matching-donation program. OK, Public Service Announcement over…

Tonight was Nicholas‘ turn in the kitchen. On my way home from work today, I stopped at the grocery story for a few things and called him to see if he needed anything for his “feast.”

“You’re making dinner tonight, right?”
“Yes, I AM!” he shouted gleefully, “All by myself!”
“What are you going to make for dinner?” I asked, holding my breath.
“Pizza!”
“OK, sounds good. I’m at the grocery store now. Do you need me to pick up anything for you to cook?”
“Yes, I do,” he quickly answered.
“What do you want me to pick up?”
“Pizza!”

Too funny, but, of course, typical! Trying to take the easy way out of making dinner for his Mom and Dad. We had some French bread pizzas in the freezer, and by the time I got home, he decided he would make those for dinner. He also wanted to make dip. I looked online for a new recipe and found a Hot Artichoke Dip one that looked interesting. Although I’ve made artichoke dip many times before, I’ve never seen heavy whipping cream as an ingredient before, and was intrigued.

Nicholas took care of making the dip entirely on his own, measuring out everything carefully and mixing the heck out of it before it went into the oven. The heavy cream gave it a unique twist and made it much more creamy that traditional artichoke dip — not bad.

Tomorrow is Nicholas’ last day in his current school, so we thought it fitting that he bring in a plate of treats. I found another new recipe to try … Oatmeal Jam Squares. Again, Nicholas did all the measuring and mixing and was quite pleased with himself. We just may make this a new tradition … The Husband cooks on Wednesday, Nicholas on Thursdays, life is good.

OK, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what fun the weekend brings. Until then…

Hot Artichoke Dip
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish. Blend together the cheese, mayonnaise and whipping cream. Stir in the artichokes. Mix well, and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

Oatmeal Jam Squares
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup fruit preserves, any flavor

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the walnuts. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture. Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread preserves over the base and crumble the reserved oat mixture over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden. Cool before cutting into squares.