Things that are mini:
Mini pigs.
(via)
Mini horses.
(via)
Mini Coopers.
Yes, I do love the movie The Italian Job, why do you ask?
(via)
When it comes to food, when I think “mini,” I think “bite-sized.” No matter what the proportions of the original dish were, if something is mini, that means I can eat it in one bite. I have so many bookmarks on Pintrest of mini foods!
So when I found this recipe for baked spinach dip mini brad bowls on Picky Palate, my mind immediately pictured these cute little bite-sized treats baking up in a mini muffin tin – perfect for the summer party I was going to later that weekend.
I don’t blame anyone except myself for the events that followed. Somewhere along the way I got really, really confused.
It wasn’t until I was back from the grocery store, ingredients lined up on the counter and ready to go, that I noticed the original recipe only made 10 bowls. 10?! How was I supposed to bring 10 tiny little bites of bread and spinach and cream cheese to a party of 40-50 people? (See, at this point, I still had it burned into my brain that I was supposed to make these in my mini muffin tin… Do you see where this is going yet?)
Back to the store I went, to get the ingredients I would need to double the recipe, grumbling to myself about who would make 10 tiny little bites of awesomeness; that’s not even enough to share!
It was not until I had filled the mini muffin tin two and a half times that I realized…maybe something wasn’t right. Perhaps…the bread bowls were mini compared to, say, Panera’s bread bowls…and a standard muffin tin was being called for.
Mini fail.
But! Silver lining!
They turned out awesome! Everyone loved these bitty things, proving that you can royally misinterpret a recipe and still come to the party with a really kick-ass little nosh.
Also, before we get to the recipe, I have to throw in these awesome caprese skewers that were also at the party.
I’m still not sure who made them, but they were so pretty, light and refreshing, I just had to share.
Baked Mini Spinach Dip Bread Bowls
Original recipe from here, with my mistakes adjustments
Makes about 30 mini bite-sized bowls
13.3 oz roll of refrigerated french bread loaf, like Simply Pillsbury
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 c baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 c light sour cream
2 Tbsp fresh shredded parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp ancho chile powder
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 t tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c shredded mozzarella cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat
- Cook and stir spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes then add garlic, cook and stir for another minute; remove from heat
- Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, parmesan cheese, chili powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper into a medium bowl; mix until well combined
- Spray mini muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. If you have 2 mini tins, spray half of the other one, too
- Unroll package of bread loaf and pull off a golf ball-sized chunk; roll into a ball and flatten into about a 1.5 inch round
- Press round into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup
- Scoop about a tablespoon of the spinach and cheese mixture and place in center of bread bowl; top with mozzarella cheese
- Repeat with remaining dough and mixture, until you run out of either or both
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until just turning brown on edges; remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from pan
yum! those look awesome! love the story about how they came to be.
I was at that party! I ate those! They were a perfect interpretation. Thank you for sharing!
Thank goodness I found you! I saw this recipe and all I could think was that although I love spinach dip, I certainly would not want to eat one as big as a full size muffin! I was too chicken to try and do them in the mini tins as I was afraid I would burn them. Thanks to you, my party appetizers are going to be perfect!
Glad I could help! I hope they turn out yummy!