Here’s an appetizer treat that actually pretty healthy - and yummy!!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Anna Limber

Ingredients
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yields 5 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup dip and about 6 chips)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 148(30% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 2.9g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 7.7g; CHOLESTEROL 17mg; CALCIUM 164mg; SODIUM 318mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 18.3g

The cooking from Marianne that I’ve sampled has always been delicious, so I’m sure this is great as well.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Marianne Whitehill (from foodgeeks.com)

1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter/margerine
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a saucepan, saute the onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper, stir until smooth and bubbly. Add broth and milk all at once, cook and stir until it boils and thickens. Add broccoli. Simmer, stirring constantly, until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. Serves 2.

Another favorite from Julie:

Orange Velvet Salad from Julie Thompson

1/2 c cold milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 env. Dream Whip
1 (8oz) can of pears, save liquid
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 (3oz) orange jello

Dissolve jello in 1 cup of heated pear juice (add water if needed).Let cool. Whip milk, vanilla, and Dream Whip together until peaks form. Add to blender and blend: pears, cream cheese, Dream Whip mixture and cooled orange gelatin. Whip 3 minutes. Pour into mold or dish and chill overnight.

One of the blogs that I keep up with is the the GirlTalk blog. It is written by Carolyn Mahaney and her 3 grown daughters. They are very solid Biblically, practical, and have a lot of good advice. They also have a pretty good “Friday funny” section!!

A couple months ago, a few of you put in a request for more salad/vegetable recipes. Girltalk did a series last week on summer salads. So I thought I’d just link you to them for our recipe of the week.

Check out all of their salads: here, here, here and here - 10 salads in all (so I shouldn’t have to post something “healthy” for a long time now!!!)

Corn season is almost upon us, and I’m excited. And so does Patricia Williams: “I love sweet corn and the Lime-Chive butter is what makes this side dish delicious. It’s adds pizzazz to regular corn on the cob. If you can’t find or don’t have sea salt you can use kosher salt found in any grocery store. As for the Hungarian paprika, it is different from regular paprika but if you don’t have it then use what you have.”

Corn on the Cob with Lime-Chive Butter submitted by Patricia Williams
Bon Appétit, August 2005

Lime juice, sea salt, and chives come together in a bright-tasting butter for sweet summer corn.

Easy Serving: Place the seasoned butter in large sealable container. Add hot drained corn. Seal container and shake until butter melts and coats corn. Transfer buttered corn to bowl.

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sugar (optional)
8 ears of corn

Preparation
Mix first 7 ingredients in medium bowl. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

To boil corn: Bring large pot of water to boil; add pinch of sugar, if desired. Husk corn. Add corn to pot. Return water to boil and cook corn 4 minutes. Drain corn and serve immediately with lime-chive butter.

To grill corn: Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Remove all but the innermost husks from corn. Fold back inner husks and remove corn silk. Rewrap inner husks around corn. Grill until husks are slightly charred and corn is tender, turning often, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately with lime-chive butter.