Creamy Cheesy Artichoke Bread

Day #2 of the NYE feast continues with this AMAZING appetizer. Cheesy and creamy and delicious! This was such a unique change from  traditional spinach and artichoke dip. I made the recipe without spinach, but it could easily be added in. I also used mostly "light" or "reduced fat" ingredients and it still tasted SO rich and yummy. It was easy to make...just not easy to slice.  I would definitely recommend this bread for a more casual gathering as it can get a tad messy. I got the recipe from Closet Cooking but somehow I either misunderstood her directions, or a step is missing, because her bread looks like it was sliced in half and not kept in sandwich form like mine. Perhaps this is why it was so messy. Either way, I will be making this again!

Creamy Cheesy Artichoke Bread

Makes: 1 loaf makes aprox 12-15 slices

Cook time according to Closet Kitchen: 40 mins

Cook time according to Rachel: 45 mins

How difficult was this for Rachel? Easy minus the slicing!

Ingredients:

1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped 
2 green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 cup light mayo
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 loaf Italian bread

Directions:   

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Slice bread in half length wise & hollow out the inside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine artichokes, mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and green onion. Mix thoroughly.

Stuff the two halves with the artichoke mix.

Cover in tinfoil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake an additional 10 mins.

Slice the bread into serving pieces. This is where it gets messy & where my final version does NOT resemble the picture.