Does anyone else have happy hours and parties in their office? Our division tries to do so every month or so (some would go so far as to say we have a “reputation” for happy hours), and I love that. As much time as we spend at work, we should at least have a little fun, right?

Baked goods always go over well, but I wanted to mix it up. The problem: if your office is anything like mine, bringing something homemade that isn’t a dessert can be difficult. My office has refrigerators and microwaves, but that’s about it. I crowdsourced suggestions through my Facebook friends, and someone sent a link to 25 Super Bowl party foods made in a slow cooker.

Genius! I got several great ideas, including classic spinach artichoke dip. I was admittedly skeptical that it could work in a slow cooker, but it worked beautifully.

I especially loved how quickly and easily this came together. The night before, I prepped the vegetables and placed them in plastic container. I bought 2 cups of pre-shredded mozzarella and an individual pint of milk. I put all the ingredients in a grocery bag and stored it in the refrigerator.

At the office the next morning, I removed the cream cheese and put the rest of the ingredients in the office fridge until lunch, when I put all the ingredients in my slow cooker. By 3:30 it smelled divine and we were ready to dive in.

I didn’t have any slow cooker liners, but they’ make clean-up a snap.

Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip

Adapted slightly from Taste and Tell

Serves 12-20

18-oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 14-oz cans artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1/2 cup (or more) milk

Place all ingredients in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours, until cheeses are melted. Stir to combine all ingredients. If the dip is too thick, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, pita chips or vegetables.