Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta

This dish was either a stroke of culinary genius, further evidence of my growing kitchen laziness or a desire to appease the fiance' who often kindly reminds me that sometimes leftovers tend to linger in our fridge (Yes, we have lots of mystery vegetable objects wrapped in foil . . . I really need to invest in a good sharpie).

As you might recall, I made the "Cleaned-Up" Spinach & Artichoke dip from the June 2011 Clean Eating Magazine for our Saturday supper.  We ended up having half a pyrex of dip left.  Rather than dive into it with more pita chips (tempting as that would be), I thought it might make a neat pasta sauce.

After putting just shy of three cups of orecchiette (aka, "little ears") up for a boil. I sauteed some finely chopped shallots in olive oil until they were translucent.  Then, I added two large handfuls halved grape tomatoes and let them cook for five minutes or so, until they started to get soft.  With three minutes to go on the pasta, I stirred in several serving scoops of the leftover spin dip. Once that was heated through, I stirred in the pasta.

The result was better than I expected - creamy, but with a good veggie taste.  Next time, I might add more tomatoes to add more color contrast.