Chicken bacon artichoke dip

I love the couple of weeks leading up to the Superbowl because I have an excuse to make yummy, gooey dips with the intent of sharing them with you! Dan and I have a weakness for dips, which makes the Superbowl a fun event for us every year. Someone told me once that there is actually FOOTBALL being played that day?! Ha! Nice try.

I was inspired to make this recipe after seeing this on Allrecipes. I just about squealed when I saw all of these delicious ingredients swimming together in my baking dish. When it came out of the oven, Dan and I both pounced. Mmmm, it was everything I expected and more.

Preaheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped

14-oz. can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup milk

3-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Mix well and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm with chips or crackers.

More Superbowl options to come!

Printable recipe: Chicken bacon artichoke dip

Bacon & pepper infused vodka

I love heat. All forms of it. I love sweating profusely as I lie on the beach and I love wrapping a warm blanket around myself while I lounge on the couch (neither happens often enough). My love for heat applies to food, as well. I love food that makes my mouth burn and my nose run. The spicier, the better!

When I read about the new trend involving infusing vodka with flavor, my first thought was that I wanted to try adding heat as my "flavor." I researched vodka infusion and found that creating spicy vodka is not uncommon! So, thinking in terms of a good spicy base for a bloody mary, I purchased three of the hottest peppers available at the grocery store and I kindly asked my husband to fry me up some bacon (for some reason, this is always a task he does).

In a large jar, I placed:

Two slices of peppered bacon, cooked

1 serrano pepper, halved

1 green chile pepper, halved

1 habanero pepper, halved

I poured vodka over the bacon and peppers until the jar was almost full (somewhere around 32 oz. of vodka). I used a middle shelf vodka. There's no need to go top shelf, but I tend to stay away from the bottom shelf, as well.

And then I screwed the lid on tight and put the jar in my garage, where it is dark and cool. And dirty. But nevermind the dirty part.

I let the vodka absorb the peppery, meaty flavors for 48 hours. If you love spice like I do, 48 hours is the perfect amount of time for the infusion. If you like just a little bit of spice, cut that time back to 24 hours.

I strained the liquid using a coffee filter that sat inside a hand strainer. Actually, my husband did the straining so I can't take credit for that part.

At the end of the 48 hours, my concoction SMELLED hot, so I was afraid to taste it. I took a tiny little sip and it was most definitely hot, but also full of flavor! For me, this will always be an addition to bloody marys. I don't plan to drink it alone or mix it with anything else. It is, through and through, a bloody-mary-only vodka.

And let me tell you, it makes a killer bloody mary. Delicious!

Click here for a printable recipe!