Creamed Spinach

I blogged earlier and posted about my dad’s birthday dinner at our house.  I rounded out the Chopped Steak with Mash Potatoes and Creamed Spinach.  His two favorite sides.  If your kids say they don’t like spinach, just add cream.  This recipe adds heavy cream and cheese and I added a second cheese.  Yum.

I am going to attempt in 2013 to recreate a lot of these recipes in a healthier fashion.  The one restaurant trick that I have learned that did not translate well in this recipe is to cook it ahead and warm in a 225 degree oven.  The problem in this dish is the spinach just retains too much water even if you think you squeezed it all out.

Recipe
Creamed Spinach (adapted from Allrecipes):

Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
•  2 (16 ounce) pacakges frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; reserve
•  3 large garlic cloves, minced
•  2 tablespoons butter
•  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•  1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
•  Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Combine cream, spinach and garlic in a microwaveable bowl covered and microwave per the box instructions. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to soften garlic.  Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour. Add hot cream mixture all at once, then whisk until smooth. Stir in spinach; cook until sauce is thick and bubbly and spinach is tender but still green, about 5 minutes. Stir in cheeses and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot.  Enjoy!