I am SO excited to be celebrating my second blogiversary today! I wrote my first post on January 27, 2013, and have been writing ever since. I always think about it, but what did I do before blogging? I’ve went through spurts of blogging too much (and not doing anything else) to only posting once in a few week’s span. I think I’ve finally got a balance between real life and blogging life.
Since every small milestone deserves a celebration, I thought I would ask some of my favorite blends (blog friends:) to all bring a dish to share and we’d have an online party! Let me introduce you to three remarkable girls that I can’t imagine my life without.
Sunnie! Sunnie blogs at Modern Girl Nutrition which was the first blog I found that was written by a fellow teenager. She seemed SO cool and I was in awe of how professional her blog seemed. She’s also a horse whisperer and that kind of makes her a goddess. Have you seen some of her smoothie creations? #goals
Sunnie brought Tamari Tempeh with Ginger Vegetables and Jasmine Rice – um, YES.
Josefine! She is Danish and I constantly tell people that I have a close friend from Denmark. π Josefine’s recipes are insanely creative and don’t even get me started on her photography. Her styling is impeccable along with how delicious her food looks! She’s an amazing dancer and just made it to a national competition for biology. So she’s basically brains AND talents. She blogs at The Smoothie Lover!
Josefine brought a Layered Chocolate Cake with Blueberries and Coconut Whipped Cream. Do you see what I was talking about?!
And Katherine from The Peanut Butter Lover. Oh Katherine, you are such an inspiration to me. You’re so kind and caring to everyone that you meet and I strive to be like you. Every post that you write is filled with such composed thoughts and you have the extraordinary gift of putting those thoughts into words that flow beautifully. You ROCK, girl.
Katherine brought Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Cookies which is basically a combination of da BEST foods ever.
I made an appetizer for the partay. Enter: Healthy Avocado, Artichoke, and Kale Dip with Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic Rolls! Longest recipe name EVER, but I can’t leave a single thing out.
I got the idea for surrounding dip with rolls from Seasons and Suppers and the dip idea from Blissful Basil. I did a lil’ combining, recipe adapting (foodie probz) and this is what I ended up with! Let me tell you, it’s love.
I liked the dip warm, but I think it was even better when I was stealing bites pre-oven. I think something with the avocados being baked made it a little teensy bit brown?
A quick word about the HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT GARLIC ROLLS. Yes, they needed all caps. You guys, anything with garlic + carbs is the way to my heart. Sadly, due to my current teeth situation they hurt to bite into, but it was all. worth. it. If you want to make them with all white flour, I won’t look. They might even be softer. And then if you want to throw in a little heavy cream in place of some milk? asjldnijhval that was my head falling on the keyboard because I just fainted of food dreams.
If yeast intimidates you (which it shouldn’t!) then feel free to just serve the dip alone with some multigrain tortilla chips or crackers. (YES.) If you just want to make the rolls for pasta night, GO FOR IT. You could also bake your favorite dip (Mom’s spinach & artichoke dip) inside the rolls, like I did here! The bottom line is just make something that will make angels sing and people sigh as they take a bite.
I just want to give a huge, huge thank you to everyone that has supported me through these two years! I really can’t imagine my life without all of you fabulous people. For anyone that reads the blog but doesn’t comment, please do!! I would LOVE to talk and connect. Really, that’s what blogging is about for me – to share the wonderful gift of recipes and life experiences with anyone that wants to read.
Thank you!
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp yeast
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 can artichokes, drained & chopped
- 1 cup kale, chopped
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese (or just parmesan & mozzarella mix)
- sprinkle of salt
- In a small bowl, add the yeast to the warmed milk. Make sure it's not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flours and salt. Once the yeast is foamy, add the milk, garlic, and oil to the stand mixer bowl. Mix together for about 3-5 minutes, until the dough starts to come together. Then transfer it to a floured surface and knead with your hands until it becomes smooth and elastic. (You might need to add more flour or a little bit of water.)
- Wipe out the bowl and oil it. Place the dough in and cover with a dishcloth. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled. This will take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.
- Once dough is doubled, turn out onto a floured surface and cut into 16 equal pieces by cutting it in half then cutting each piece in half. Form them into balls by pinching the bottom together and place all around a greased cast iron skillet. Spray a small bowl and place it in the center, so the rolls rise up, not out. Brush each roll with melted butter and over with the dish towel. Let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
- Make the dip by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Take the bowl out of the cast iron skillet, trying to not disturb any of the rolls. Spoon the dip into the place where the bowl was and bake for about 25-30 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, sprinkle with more cheese.
- Once rolls are done cooking, remove from oven and serve!
- This dip is fabulous served cold and unbaked. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.
- You can also just make the rolls. Add more garlic is that suits your tastes!
looks! so good π happy blogiversary!! π love reading your blog thank you so much for all your posts! xx
Thanks Lucy π thank you for being such a great reader!
Wow that appetizer is my kind of dish!! Congrats on hitting two years! I love your blog – your photos are all beautiful!
Thanks, Elizabeth! Photography is one of my passions and I try to make it shine through on my blog!
Happy blogiversary! Those rolls look like the perfect way to celebrate; I just about died when I saw the picture with the spinach dip on instagram,.
Thanks, Kelly! Oh man, I know. It’s insanely delicious!
First off – congrats on your blogging anniversary to a super talent in the blogosphere π Secondly, this recipe is da bomb – I’m with you – anything with carbs + garlic, I’m in π Such a creative way to bake and serve – pinning this baby π
Thanks, girl! Your comment means a lot to me coming from someone as successful as you! π
Happy anniversary! That dip looks amazing and super healthy. Cant wait to make it myself.
Thank you! Be sure to let me know if you try it π
Avocado – Kale & Artichokes! YUM!! I don’t need anymore ingredients but those! π
Agreed! You can’t go wrong with those!
Happy Blogiversary!! Those rolls look amazing:)
Thanks Faith!! I wanted to make this a vegan dip but didn’t have the time to experiment.. you should do one! Maybe cashews?
Ooo! I love a challenge! Maybe I’ll try out a vegan version for the Super Bowl this Sunday! But your dip looks amazing, so if I don’t have time to experiment, I’ll just make your version. Yum!
Haha! Thanks π I guess it would be possible to make it vegan if you used vegan mayo in place of the yogurt & regular mayo and Daiya shreds! That’s what I had originally wanted to do but I don’t have either of those in my cupboard π
Looks delicious and very healthy! Happy 2 years!
Thanks Karli! π
AAAAA, I am so happy and so honoured to be a part of this party. Thank you SO MUCH for the incredibly kind words. Reading those words seriously made my day. Haha, I keep telling people about my good friend – this super sweet girl I know from Upper Peninsula π You have no idea how happy I am to have met you π
Happy blogiversaiy! I am so happy you started The Yopper Girl two years ago. I love reading every single post from here.
The apetizer looks insanely good. I want this right now!
But I do know how happy you are to have met me, because I’m just as happy that I got to meet you!! Thank you so much for being a part of my blogiversary, Josefine – it means so much to me! <3
Happy 2nd blogiversary, Leigha! That’s awesome that you’ve been doing it for so long! These rolls? I die!
Thanks, Liv! I think my family is surprised I’m still doing it, haha π I just finished the last roll approx. 5 minutes ago and now I kind of don’t know what to do with my life.
Um, hello! This recipe combines three of my FAV foods and will definitely be made in our household soon. Genius! Thank you!
Woohoo! Be sure to let me know if you try it, Kristen! π
HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY! Two years is such a huge milestone and I love how you chose to do a virtual potluck to celebrate it. So creative and fun! Andddd can we just talk about how insanely delicious your dip and garlic rolls look? I’m slightly dying inside because I want a piece so badly haha ;). Pinned!
Thanks, Christine!! That means so much coming from you! I think the only thing better than a virtual potluck is a real life potluck π
Love this post! Your photos are gorgeous and that recipe… Wow! Thanks for sharing π
Thank you, Anne! I’m glad you like it π
Ahh, that looks SO darn delicious!! I love that you added avocado and kale π
Thanks, Hannah! The avocado and kale take it to a WHOLE new level!
Happy Blogiversary! I love the idea of having a party and you all brought such great food :). I want to eat it all!
Thanks girlie! I wish the party was in real life!!
Happy Blogiversary! 2 years of blogging is incredible! And now I am drooling over those garlic rolls! I need to make them asap!!
I just ate the last roll and I’m already going through withdrawl! Haha. Thanks Brie!!
Happy blogiversary! And the rolls and dip look absolutely amazing <3
Thanks girl <3
HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY! I’m so so glad we met through your blog, and I absolutely loved having this online party. Let’s do it in real life sometime! π
Um PLEASE. Like fo realz. <3 you so much!
hey leigha !
I read every single one of your blogs but never comment ( im commenting now though ) This recipe looks super delish but i don’t like avocados .. any substitute dip ?
Hi Emily!
I’m so glad you commented! In place of the avocado you could do a mixture of mayo and greek yogurt. Anything that’s nice and creamy will work! π
Ugh beautiful food and even more beautiful young women. HAPPY 2nd BLOGIVERSARY!!! I have loved following you through your journey, and I can’t wait for the years to come. You’re an amazing girl, and you inspire me in so many aspects of life. β₯
P.S. craving these rolls and dip (genius, btw) at midnight in my dorm.
Aww Alison <3 <3 you are so sweet!! I'm so behind on your blog and it's killing me...must catch up soon. You are an incredible girl as well and I'm so thankful that we've "met" through blogging!
is it weird that I came back because the pictures are so pretty? YES? OKAY!!
um no bc do you know how often I type in your blog and just go through posts? lol #noshame
My gosh this looks amazing. Happy blog-iversay!!
Thanks girl π
Omgosh- yummm!!! So happy this popped up on my Pinterest feed. I can’t wait to try this!
Woohoo! Let me know if you make it π