This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe is Creamed Spinach, which apparently is in the So Easy book even though I have never noticed it before. This dish was chosen by a good blogging friend of mine, Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen. I can honestly say that this was my first time ever trying Creamed Spinach, and I think it's mostly because I'm scared of things that have "creamed" in the title. I dislike creamed corn, I'm not normally a fan of "cream of" soups, and on top of that I try to use as little cream in my savory dishes as possible. But this was Liz; I had to forge on and make this dish for her!
This was ridiculously easy to make, which I loved. Chop up some shallots and briefly cook them in a bit of oil. Thaw a box of frozen spinach, squeeze it out very well. Add a bit of flour to the pan and cook it out, then add some milk and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Once this has thickened slightly, you add the spinach and simmer it for about 5 minutes. Finally, you add evaporated milk (just a bit, and since I had none on hand I decided to just skip that little step), some nutmeg, salt, and pepper. And you're done!
So, it turns out that I really liked this! I know, what a shocker, right? I went into it almost dreading it, and I ended up enjoying it. I'm not the biggest frozen spinach fan, but if I'm going to eat it, this is the way I'd like to do it. The spinach was just creamy enough, had tons of flavor, and got super bonus points for its ease of preparation. I wouldn't eat spinach this way every day, but I do think it'd be nice for a change of pace every now and then.
Thank you, Liz! I know now that I really would have been missing out on something delicious if I had been too scared to try this. Silly me; I had nothing to fear! For the recipe, head on over to Food Network's website, here. To see the CEIMB blogroll, click here.
Posts
Bri yours looks really good. This was my first time making creamed spinach too. I would just as soon have my spinach plain or raw though than to spend time making a cream sauce with it. Just sayin.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so creamy and delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for trying this with me! I have to admit that as my week was approaching, I kept asking myself, "Why did I choose this??" LOL But it seems to have worked out for most people! After reading about those who enjoyed it, I am considering trying it again. Like you said, it was so easy to make, so I won't feel like I wasted a bunch of time. I think maybe the frozen spinach helped with the texture. Anyway, I'm glad you ended up liking it! Thanks again for being brave :D
ReplyDeleteOkay, I chickened out on this one. While we loved spinach raw or barely wilted, this whole cooking it a whole lot and making a pile of mushed greens scared the heck out of me. I made the chicken salad that I missed a couple of weeks ago. Now, all that said, I read your post very carefully and maybe, just maybe, I will make a teeny tiny portion and see if it has all the merits you claim...I won't know unless I try it, right? Yours does look nicer than I had ever imagined this dish looking.
ReplyDelete