Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Spinach Makes It Healthy, Right?
Let me start by saying I had a blog miracle last week. As you all know I wrote an article awhile back about Joy the Baker and my blog crush on her. I also put out a request for her cookbook for my birthday. Well to prove that miracles do happen I came home from a long day at work last week to find this on my doorstep (thank you PDA):
So thank you very much for making my cookbook dreams come true. Recipes will be to follow shortly. And for helping me believe in the power of manifestation. My Mother often told me that if you want something bad enough you need to visualize it, cut out a picture of it and focus on the item of your desire. Wow Mom yet again you are right! Now let's try this again. My birthday is August 16th and I would really like this for my birthday:
Sure we all have times when we need comfort food, right? We need the cheesy heavenly goodness that is also known as Macaroni and Cheese. So that is what I decided to make. I have subscribed to a food blog for a few months called Simple Daily Recipes, however I was just recently inspired to try one of the recipes. The recipes seem to be pretty simple, however I haven't exactly been inspired by the authors writing and I think that is what has been holding me back from experimenting with her recipes.
But this recipe for Smoked Gouda and Cheddar Mac with Spinach just spoke to me. To begin with I love smoked cheeses...smoked mozzarella, smoked cheddar, smoked gouda...you name it...if it has the word smoked in it I am pretty darn happy. Secondly, sure there are 4 cups of cheese in this recipe but it has spinach in it so it has to be healthy right. I thought that this recipe completely obliterated my mac n cheese guilt complex by adding spinach...what a stroke of genius!!! Oh well hell if iI am getting iron and vitamins this has got to be good for me, right? And for all of you who believe differently...well shhh silence is a virtue. I also have to say that this recipe is so simple that I actually thought to myself...hmmm why do I always follow other peoples recipes I could totally come up with my own...so I may try and tackle this challenge in the near future.
Here is the recipe:
So thank you very much for making my cookbook dreams come true. Recipes will be to follow shortly. And for helping me believe in the power of manifestation. My Mother often told me that if you want something bad enough you need to visualize it, cut out a picture of it and focus on the item of your desire. Wow Mom yet again you are right! Now let's try this again. My birthday is August 16th and I would really like this for my birthday:
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| Pauly D-oh come on that is funny! |
Sure we all have times when we need comfort food, right? We need the cheesy heavenly goodness that is also known as Macaroni and Cheese. So that is what I decided to make. I have subscribed to a food blog for a few months called Simple Daily Recipes, however I was just recently inspired to try one of the recipes. The recipes seem to be pretty simple, however I haven't exactly been inspired by the authors writing and I think that is what has been holding me back from experimenting with her recipes.
Smoked Gouda and Cheddar Mac with Spinach
I'm a big, BIG fan of spinach. Anytime I can get away with mixing it into a dish, I do it! This particular dish had my interest because it I knew it would work for both my cheesy-noodle-lovin-kids, my not-so-crazy-about-spinach-husband and me. ;D It had the thick, creamy texture we want from a baked macaroni dish. And the iron rich spinach made it guilt-free when I went back for seconds. This recipe goes into the monthly rotation under the comfort food category for sure!
- 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and stems removed
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese
- 1 can (12 oz.) CARNATION Evaporated Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain spinach in a strainer set inside a bowl. ***I used a slotted spoon to remove the spinach and that worked well. I thought the less I played with boiling water the safer it would be. *** Set aside. When cool enough to touch, roughly chop the spinach. *** I did scorch the hell out of my hand by trying to chop the spinach while it was too hot so listen to the recipe and wait until it is cool enough to touch. ***
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.
In the same boiling water with heat set to medium, pour in dry macaroni and cook until tender to the tooth, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain well. Return to saucepan.
Toss in the chopped, blanched spinach. Add the cheddar cheese and Gouda cheese, evaporated milk, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Cover tightly with foil.
BAKE for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until lightly brown. *** Super easy, right! ***
My Mother also trained me from a very young age how to make and pour coffee (said like cough-eeee with a thick NJ accent). Sure I didn't start drinking it until I was 31 but I had the coffee service thing down. Thought you would like to see my very first coffee lesson:
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I LOVE spinach, cheese and any type of noodles, so I am definitely trying this recipe. Good luck getting your dream for your birthday... :)
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