artichoke cream cheese

at costco, we recently tried a sample of artichoke dip. (i think that's what it's called.) it was good. but it wasn't anything i'd pay money for. it was nothing extraordinary. it just tasted like artichoke in cream cheese. i checked the ingredients, and sure enough, it was. so i figured~ i have artichoke hearts and cream cheese on hand, why not make it myself?

i did that this morning.
this is all i used:

• a block of philadelphia cream cheese (1/3 less fat)
  
• 2 cups of marinated artichoke hearts (drained)
  
• a clove of garlic (i like garlic in just about everything)

i just used a food processor to pulse, and it was done in literally less than one minute. here's the result.











the reward? it's officially "homemade." no artificial ingredients or preservatives. probably has much less sodium, too. you can make just the amount you want, instead of buying a whole tub. and no worries about taking up extra space in the refrigerator with more things.

and btw, it can be done with other vegetables too. like roasted peppers, carrots, onions... whatever suits you. and as much (or little) ingredients as you want.

of course my husband liked it a lot. but the real test is, if i can get my daughter to eat artichoke and like it, it's a winner.

on a side note: b/c it's very flavorful, it's good on plain bagel. i tried it on a slice of cheese-onion bread that i baked a couple days ago, and they did not complement each other. oh no. too strong.
my two cents. good night.