Tropic of Mom's Three-Cheese Spinach and Artichoke Dip

First, I have to start at the beginning and apologize for the lousy photo. My camera has been acting up. I think it has multiple-personality disorder. Or possibly Alzheimer's. Or both. It turns on only some of the time, and then it's iffy whether it will take a decent picture. I know it can't possibly be a fault of the user. Ahem.

Last week, I went to a "moms' night in" at a friend's house. Everyone was supposed to bring a snack. (We would say "appetizer" or "hors d'oeuvre," but we're not that fancy.) I got this recipe from somewhere years ago and have adapted it to my own tastes over time. I knew my husband wouldn't let me out of the house without leaving him some of the dip, so I scooped out a generous helping into a dish and gave him some nice crackers to go with it. He ate it all. And I'm pretty sure my friend's husband, who tried his best to stay scarce for the duration of the estrogen takeover of his house, lingered near the snack table and made an appearance a few times to eat some of this dip and the other snacks as well.

So, this dip is husband-approved.

It's also girlfriend-approved, and this dip may be the only reason my chick friends let me stay and pretend to play poker because -- honestly? -- I don't know a flush from a full house from a straight or whatever you call them. One of my friends had to help me out. Then she "borrowed" some of my chips when she ran out. But we weren't playing for money anyway, thank goodness....

Tropic of Mom's Three-Cheese Spinach and Artichoke Dip
(Or, the dip that will let you stay and play cards when you don't know what you're doing)

Ingredients
1 block (8 oz.) cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup shredded Mozarella cheese
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) butter
4 tsp. garlic or garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinch, thawed and drained
1 can (14 oz.) quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2-3 Tsbp. milk (optional)

Directions
Put the different cheeses and butter into a medium saucepan, and warm over low-medium heat. Stir the mixture once in a while. When the cheeses and butter have melted together, add the rest of the ingredients. It's OK if you don't like artichokes because you can leave them out. (If the mixture seems too thick, add the optional milk listed.) Increase the temperature to medium and continue to stir occasionally. When your dip just starts to bubble, take it off the heat. Serve warm with crackers, melba toast, baguette slices or your other favorite way to eat warm dip.