After spending the weekend away in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day, I was a little mad at myself for getting absolutely nothing productive done this weekend. But I will say, I think the break from the blog and my freelance work was necessary — everyone deserves a break every once in a while. But now I’m back in the swing of things and couldn’t wait to get this recipe taste-tested and posted. It’s the perfect appetizer for any occasion; a final four party, perhaps? (Although my team – Seton Hall – lost to Kansas a few nights ago, I still keep up with the tournament.)

I saw something similar to this on Facebook while I was scrolling through the seemingly hundreds of food recipes that constantly show up on my feed. I thought, “How hard can it be to come up with a recipe like that?” The answer? Not hard at all.

I used garlic bread from my local bakery, so I didn’t add too much garlic to the dip—feel free to adjust that as you wish. Also, I toasted the top of the loaf alongside the dip while it cooked, which made for some additional bread to snack on; I recommend you try it.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Italian bread (or bread of choice)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1, 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup packed frozen spinach (cooked according to package instructions)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of black pepper
1/4 cup fresh fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheeses (combined)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Slice off top of bread loaf and hollow out center. Set aside. Add next 8 ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined. Add mixture to hollowed-out bread. Top with mozzarella and parmesan mixture. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until top layer of cheese is crisped.