Cream Cheese Spinach Pesto Recipes

CREAM CHEESE SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Combine ingredients in blender or food processor in listed order to insure proper and easy blending. Turn blender on high and run until pesto is a heavy liquid. May have to stop and push greens down once or twice.
• Pour into air tight container and refrigerate.

SPINACH POWER PESTO MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a casserole dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Add baby spinach to the pot in the last minute of cooking; drain.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir garlic into onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk 2 tablespoons pesto, flour, black pepper, and salt into onion mixture until smooth; whisk milk in gradually. Cook and stir milk mixture until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes; stir in 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup Asiago cheese; remove saucepan from heat and stir until cheeses are melted, about 1 minute.
• Stir cheese mixture into macaroni mixture; pour into prepared casserole dish. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove casserole from oven; increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons pesto, 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup Asiago cheese, and bread cubes. Remove casserole dish from oven, uncover, and top with bread mixture.
• Bake casserole with topping in the preheated oven, uncovered, until bubbly and golden, about 10 minutes.