Hot Jalapeno Corn-Artichoke Dip

It's no secret that we like to entertain.  One of our favorite things about our house is the fact that is lends itself so well to entertaining....big living room, open floor plan, and now we have our outdoor entertaining area that is just as big as our indoor entertaining area.  Have I mentioned how much I love it yet?!?  Ok maybe once or twice.  Entertaining a lot means that I am cooking nearly every weekend.  It also means that I am always on the lookout for a new gameday recipe because you can only eat so much Buffalo Chicken Dip before you get tired of it (except for Eric because I honestly thing he would live off of that stuff if I let him).

Saturday morning I realized that we had nothing but several kinds of meat and cookies on the menu.  I went to Pinterest and once again the day was saved when I settled on Hot Jalapeno Corn Dip.  I'd pinned the recipe earlier that week just because I thought it looked pretty good.  After reading some of the comments on the recipe (something I have learned can be extremely beneficial because people will offer tips and suggestions to improve the recipe), I decided we would give it a try using a few of the tweaks suggested. It also helped that I had almost everything I needed for it already.

original recipe

What you need:

2 cans sweet corn, drained (you can also use frozen corn)

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

2 green onions

1- 4oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese *Kraft makes a bag of shredded cheddar jack cheese that I used instead of buying 2 different blocks*

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

dash of hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp Penzey's Pay it Forward Spice (this stuff is amazing!)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, spices and hot sauce.

Stir in corn, jalapeno peppers, onions, artichokes and 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Place in a greased 2 qt baking dish and top with remaining cheese. I used my Pampered Chef Stoneware Pie Plate, it's perfect for dips.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Serve with Tortilla chips...Scoops are perfect for this one!

Notes:

+ I added the artichokes after reading some of the reviews and I am thinking next time I make it I might add some mushrooms, too! The possibilities are endless with this one!
+ This dish is far from spicy (Mom).  I promise the jalapenos and dash of hot sauce do not make this dish spicy at all.  =)

Enjoy!