Lunch Ladies Creamy Italian Spinach Recipes

EASY CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes until light golden. Add in the onion and cook until transparent (about 2-3 minutes), then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
• Pour in the milk (or half and half), whisking constantly until the white sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne (If using). If the sauce is too thick, add another 1/4 cup of milk to the sauce, whisking it through until reaching your desired thickness.
• For the spinach: melt the remaining butter in a separate pan, and add spinach in batches, wilting each batch before adding the next, until all spinach is wilted. (Add a small spoon of water if the pan gets too dry.)Alternatively: Cook the spinach in a pot of boiling water for just one minute; then immerse in a cold water bath to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out any excess water from the leaves and set aside.
• Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Add wilted spinach to the cream sauce, stirring gently to combine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

LUNCH LADIES CREAMY ITALIAN SPINACH

Steps:

• With kitchen shears cut raw bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy but not burned, drain well on paper towels.
• Place spinach in a large corning ware type bowl that is micro-wave safe.
• Add bacon, sour cream, cheese and seasonings to the spinach stir well to combine.
• Heat covered in a microwave oven for 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir well. Heat for additional 2 minutes.
• OPTION: For a nicer presentation, after microwaving sprinkle parmesan cheese over top of the spinach and place in 350*F oven for about ten minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

FAST AND EASY CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Pour olive oil into a large soup pot, place over high heat, add spinach, and cover. Cook for 1 minute, uncover, and lightly stir until most of the leaves are bright green and wilted, about 2 minutes. Quickly drain spinach in a strainer and transfer to a plate lined with 4 or 5 paper towels. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as possible. Transfer spinach to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
• Mix salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg in a small bowl.
• Place a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter in skillet, and stir shallot in the hot butter until just barely golden and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir seasoning mixture into shallot mixture and pour in cream. Raise heat to medium-high and reduce cream sauce to about half, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon zest.
• Reduce heat to low and toss spinach with cream sauce in skillet. Cook and stir until spinach is heated through and coated, about 2 minutes. Stir Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into spinach until thoroughly combined; serve immediately.

CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Wash and dry spinach if using fresh. Remove any tough stems and roughly chop.
• Cook spinach in a pan with olive oil over medium heat until wilted and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and place in a strainer to drain.
• Add onion and butter to the pan and cook on medium low heat until onion is softened. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer while stirring until smooth. Simmer 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
• Squeeze any excess moisture out of the spinach. Add back to the pan and stir to combine. Heat through and serve.

CREAMY SPINACH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together spinach, ricotta cheese, egg, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cups of the Italian cheese.
• To assemble, place 4 cooked noodles in bottom of baking dish. Top with one-third of the Alfredo sauce (about 1/2 cup) and half of the spinach mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 4 noodles, Alfredo sauce and 1 1/2 cups Italian cheese. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish tightly with foil, sprayed side down.
• Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until bubbly around edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

CHEESY CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, stirring constantly. Remove from the skillet and drain in a colander. Try to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and stir in the heavy cream. Sprinkle in the provolone cheese and stir to melt and coat the spinach. Once the provolone has melted, stir in the Parmesan cheese and continue to cook and stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

BEST EVER ITALIAN SPINACH

Steps:

• Thaw spinach and squeeze out excess water.
• Now, squeeze some more and set aside.
• In a saute skillet, over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic.
• Cook until garlic is golden brown (don't burn it!).
• Add spinach and seasonings, saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Break in eggs and continue to saute and stir until eggs are cooked and thoroughly mixed into the spinach.
• Drain any excess oil and transfer to serving platter.
• Sprinkle grated Paremesan cheese over the top, amount to your liking.