Pinspired: {Low-Cal} Mini Spinach & Artichoke Breadbowls

A few weeks ago, I came across this picture on Pinterest:

Picky Palate via Pinterest

It got me thinking. What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of spinach dip? Sour creeeeeeeeeeeeeeam. Artichoke dip? Mayooooooooooooooooooo.

Pretty gross, right?

Well, I LOVE dip, and don't think that calories and fat should keep us apart.

...

Clearly I need to find a way to lighten up some of my faves.

I absolutely LOVED the idea of putting the dip in mini-breadbowls, so I used refrigerated pie crusts.  The husband loved them with the pie crust, but I think next time I'll try using tortillas pressed into the muffin cups. They'd crisp up like chips and let the dip stand out.

Here's my recipe (very loosely inspired by the Picky Palate one): 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2c frozen spinach, thawed, OR ~2c fresh spinach
• 1 can (or about 8 oz) Artichoke hearts, drained, VERY finely chopped. 
• 1/2c light Mayo
• 1/3c Plain Greek Yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped.
• 1/3c Parmesan Cheese * 
• Refrigerated Pie Crust, Bread Dough, Tortillas, etc. (whatever you want to be your "bowl")

You'll also need:

• Mini-Muffin Tin
• Cooking Spray

*I didn't have this but would DEFINITELY use it next time!

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
• Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Complicated, I know. Savor the fact that your tummy and your waistline will thank you for being so kind to them. (if you use fresh spinach, you'll need to steam it first; stick it in the microwave for like 30s with a 1/2 tsp of water. )

• Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray. Press the bread bowl material (pie crust, bread dough, tortillas, etc) into each muffin tin, making sure to make it thin. I love my carbs but you want the dip to be the shining ingredient here!

• Scoop the dip (a little more than 1Tbsp) into each cup, making sure to fill it a teensy bit extra-full (it will compact a little when baked). 

• Reduce the heat to 350 degrees, bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.

Perfection! I had some leftover dip, so I tossed it in a ramekin to bake sans-breadbowl. Delicious both ways! 

I may or may not have had this for dinner. It's a vegetable, right?

YUM!

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