Winter Warm Up - Creamed Spinach

Okay. I realize that creamed spinach is probably not the most "romantic" side dish as far as side dishes go. But, a little creamed spinach can not only provide essential nutrients such as iron to your dinner, it can provide color and flavor to your table any time of year.

First, you may already have frozen spinach in your freezer. If not, you can purchase inexpensive, frozen, generic spinach that is either chopped or cut.  You can purchase fresh, but it will take a larger amount of the fresh to equal the amount you will get out of a bag of frozen, and ultimately cost you more. However, that is up to you, I'm not advocating for either one just as long as it's edible.     
Then, you will need the following: light ricotta (small container), heavy whipping cream, butter, sour cream, mayo and two, cage-free eggs. Again, you can purchase whichever brand you prefer, but with regard to the eggs, I never scrimp. Cage-free eggs just taste better because the bird is "cage free" and although more expensive, the practice is less cruel to the poor chicken.   Chances are...you have some of these things in your fridge already.

The ingredients that follow should be staples in your pantry, and if they are not, stock up!

Use 1/2 teaspoon of each:  black pepper, garlic, minced onion, sage, parsley, garlic salt.  If you have fresh herbs, great, but dried will do fine. The thing is, if you have dried items in your spice rack, USE THEM!  It's not difficult to make bland food taste good if you put a little thought into it. I promise that, if you use garlic or sea salt and pepper the right way, your dishes are going to go from ordinary to extra-ordinary.

Putting this dish together is a snap!  Toss your spices together in a small bowl - adding a full teaspoon of dried onion.  Defrost your spinach and drain any excess water, then over medium heat, combine spinach with the two eggs, ricotta, 1/4 cup cream, 2 tablespoons butter,  1/4 cup sour cream, two tablespoons mayo and toss in your dry ingredients from the smaller bowl. Once combined, add a "splash" of sherry.  Once the mixture heats up, you will want to taste it to make sure there is flavor. You will know what to add more of if you simply taste your dish.

Once the mixture bubbles, pour it into a pretty, oven-safe, preferably glass pan, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella or parmesan (or both)  and cook for 15 minutes on 350 degrees, then broil for 2 minutes on 500 degrees to cook the top of the cheese. Easy. Promise.

As per the pictures, creamed spinach not only looks beautiful, it tastes great and serves 4-6 people. You can serve it up or put it on the table for a beautiful, festive treat! This is a dish that would make Popeye proud! :-)