Monday, January 7, 2013

No-Brainer Creamed Spinach

Welcome to a new year at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen! We have a few changes to announce as we begin 2013.

We're very sorry to see Ellery Adams, our first Saturday of the month pie expert, leave us. She promises to return often, though!

We're thrilled to have Mary Jane Maffini back on a regular basis on second Saturdays. By now you know that she and her daughter are writing a new mystery series as Victoria Abbott.

Annie Knox will be taking over first Saturdays, and Lucy Burdette will post every Thursday. Peg Cochran will round out our Saturdays on the fourth and fifth Saturdays of the month. Third Saturdays? They'll be a surprise!

We already have an amazing line-up of guests booked for Sundays. And we have a few ideas for some special weeks, too. It should be a fun year!

Today I'm posting something that isn't really worth calling a recipe. I'm posting it anyway for two reasons. If you're like me, you probably have a little bit of cream left over from the holidays. Well, maybe not Sheila -- she used up all of hers last week! The other reason is that one of my friends has been asking how I make this. It's so simple and so good that there's never any left over at my house. This time around, I actually measured the ingredients so she can reproduce it at home.

The measurements I'm giving you served three at my house recently, but to everyone's chagrin, no seconds. Spinach shrinks when it's cooked, so if you're serving more than 2-3 people, I recommend doubling the portions below.

I use my immersion blender to chop the spinach and mix in the ingredients, but this could also be done in a regular blender. Then return it to the pot to keep warm until ready to serve.

This also makes a nice filling for spinach crepes. And it's a fine way to start off the new year. The belief is that eating spinach brings dollars!


No-Brainer Creamed Spinach

1 10-ounce package frozen spinach
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
pinch of nutmeg

Cook the spinach and drain the water, pressing it out. Add the other ingredients. Chop with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Keep warm in the pot until ready to serve.

There's more good news. This is about 300 - 350 calories. That works out to about 100 luxurious guilt-free calories per serving. Aaaah. Enjoy!


Frozen.
 
Cooked.

Add cream, butter, salt and nutmeg.




Not very pretty, but oh, so yummy!


13 comments:

  1. You know, I've never cooked frozen spinach. Canned either. I enjoyed a great spinach soup using fresh spinach so maybe I should try this recipe. I need to cook more...healthier too.

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    1. I love fresh spinach, but I like to keep frozen spinach on hand, too. This is such a nice quick fix.

      I keep reading that everyone wants to eat healthier. I'm going to try to add some healthy recipes here.

      ~ Krista

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  2. Hey Krista... ahhhh Ellery Adams, I hardly knew ye.

    Love the no brainer recipe, but where's the Parmesan Cheese to kill the taste of the cooked spinach???

    But I do appreciate the low cal numbers... Maybe whole milk instead of cream and cheese would even out the calories.

    Dave

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    1. Dave, I'm totally surprised that you don't like spinach. Even my picky friends like it. I didn't know that I had to hide the flavor! But, you know, with a little cream and butter you might like it better than you thought!

      ~ Krista

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    2. Actually I do like raw spinach, salads and such... But I had a bad experience as a child with cooked spinach so i am still haunted. All the suggestions does indeed make it better, nutmeg, forgot that one, but yes, I will eat it when asked without making a face (which is a great improvement from my youth)

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  3. Krista, I love no brainer anything. Love spinach.

    Dave, LOL re: killing the taste. I think the nutmeg does that for creamed spinach. If not, the cream does it. :)

    Hugs to all,

    Avery/ Daryl

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    1. Cream makes such a difference, doesn't it? It elevates the lowly vegetable. Yum!

      ~ Krista

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  4. Oh, how I love creamed spinach! May have to go get some cream just to try this...

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    1. Me, too. Roberta. Hate to make you buy cream just for this but I bet you'll find another use for the rest of it!

      ~ Krista

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  5. Brilliant--fresh, tasty, and easy!

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    1. My kind of food, Libby! Love it when something is easy and tastes great!

      ~ Krista

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  6. We have no leftover spinach, but there are six packages in the freezer, Krista. We love it and we will make this tomorrow. Thank you! And thanks for the welcome back. I sure do love it here.

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  7. We use half & half in our coffee, that should work well. Sounds really good, for some reason I have a craving for some over rice! Yum!

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