I bought a big bag of fresh spinach.

We don't like it plain...or in salads...I am looking for main dishes or side dishes to use it up quickly before it goes bad.

any pasta or rice dishes? anything? :)

I like to boil the big shell pastas, and in a skillet I mix cottage cheese or ricotta, shredded spinach, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce, and add meat if you like. Oh and mushrooms :D

Stuff the shells and bake with extra sauce poured over them till they are good and warm. Maybe 20 min at 350 degrees.

I dont measure sorry I just keep adding till it tastes good

Originally posted by Half dozen mama
I like to boil the big shell pastas, and in a skillet I mix cottage cheese or ricotta, shredded spinach, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce, and add meat if you like. Oh and mushrooms :D

Stuff the shells and bake with extra sauce poured over them till they are good and warm. Maybe 20 min at 350 degrees.

I dont measure sorry I just keep adding till it tastes good

ooh that sounds yummy!

I think we should start threads with 1 ingredient and share recipes....I need way more ideas than I have! LOL

we use it when we make veggie lasagna or goulash :)

Originally posted by Half dozen mama
[B]I like to boil the big shell pastas, and in a skillet I mix cottage cheese or ricotta, shredded spinach, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce, and add meat if you like. Oh and mushrooms :D

Stuff the shells and bake with extra sauce poured over them till they are good and warm. Maybe 20 min at 350 degrees.


We love this, too! In fact, we're having it tomorrow night for dinner. :p I use a tomato/basil spaghetti sauce, but don't add mushrooms. I sprinkle a little nutmeg on top before I bake it. It's one of my dh's very favorites.

Jessica - do you like Indian food? Spinach is great for palak paneer, and you can buy the paneer (cheese) part already made. Let me know if you're interested and I'll post a recipe.

the kids never even guess it's there...

kiwi, bananas, strawberries, soymilk, whatever you have and spinach...

Originally posted by Softiemommy
We love this, too! In fact, we're having it tomorrow night for dinner. :p I use a tomato/basil spaghetti sauce, but don't add mushrooms. I sprinkle a little nutmeg on top before I bake it. It's one of my dh's very favorites.

Jessica - do you like Indian food? Spinach is great for palak paneer, and you can buy the paneer (cheese) part already made. Let me know if you're interested and I'll post a recipe.

oohhh--I would love some Indian recipes. I have been wanting to try some!

I quickly sautee it in olive oil with a bit of garlic and then add some lemon juice near the end.

Creamed spinach is yummy.

Lasagna Florentine.

Here are about 600 spinach recipes:

http://www.recipesource.com/cgi-bin/search?search_string=spinach+-salad&max=

Jessica, cook 10 oz frozen peas in salted water for 4 minutes and then drain. Add the peas to spinach and dress with pesto. You can top this with toasted nuts or parmesan for a quick summer side dish and it's fabulous!

My favorite spinach recipe is spinach dip with king's sweet bread. (knor's veggie soup has the recipe on the box)

Chicken and spinach fettucine is good too.

I cheat and make small shells or rotini so I don't have to cut up the noodles though (LOL)
You can boil/bake/sautee your chicken, adding seasonings to taste (garlic salt is a easy one)

Throw your spinach in some boiling water for 2-5 minutes, depending on how cooked you want it.

Drain everything, mix together and cover with either alfredo sauce or you can even use spaghetti sauce.


Stuffed shells are good, and so is adding it to garlic bread with diced tomatoes, and covering with mozzarella cheese. Cook in oven until cheese is melted.

Originally posted by jessica_momof6
oohhh--I would love some Indian recipes. I have been wanting to try some!

Jessica - I'm sorry, I just found this message. Had a terrible headache last night and went to bed at 8:30. :eek:

Here's a link to a recipe for palak paneer. Do you have an Indian store close to you? I usually get the cheese there. I've tried making it myself, but it took forever and only made a little cheese. This is really, really yummy! Chris' promotion ceremony was yesterday and we all went to an Indian restaurant in DC after - boy, was I excited when I saw palak paneer on the buffet!

Palak Paneer Recipe (http://www.recipedelights.com/recipes/vegdishes/PalakPaneer.htm)

There is a great recipe I found in my LLL cookbook that we use all the time.

Basically, it's chicken and spinach manicotti. Cook the manicotti, and dice up about 2 cups of chicken breast. Mix the chicken with a cup or so of sauteed spinach, ricotta cheese (I use about a cup) some fresh parsley, garlic if you like, an egg, about 1/4 cup shredded fresh parmesan, and whatever else sounds good. (Can you tell I don't follow recipes much? LOL)

Drain the manicotti, and stuff with chicken spinach mixture. Place flat in a big baking pan. Then mix about one cup tomato sauce with one cup broth (chicken or veggie - whatever I have on hand) and pour over shells. Cover and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350.

My family loves this, and we have it pretty often.

I also use spinach in stir fry recipes. When something calls for cabbage, I just use spinach instead. I can throw together a lo mein type stir fry using garlic, tofu, spinach, carrots, water chestnuts and snow peas in about 10 minutes. :)

Softiemommy mentioned adding a pinch of nutmeg with her spinach. I'd like to "second" that motion ... (when I used to work in a fresh, "gourmet" pasta shop, I learned that trick ... it's awesome !!!)

This recipe calls for frozen spinach, but I've used fresh as well. Oh, and it's a OAMC recipe, but there are directions for serving immediately too. It's really good :)


Stuffed Potato Shells

makes 12 main dish servings; or 24 side dish servings

12 baking potatos, scrubbed
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)
1/4 cup margarine, or butter
(small amount of milk may need to be added during preparation)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
2 boxes frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Bake potatoes at 400F for 1 hour. Removed from oven. Slice hot potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out pulp into large bowl, leaving a thin potato-skin shell. Mash potato pulp with salt, pepper and margarine (and milk if needed). Stir in chopped onion, both cheeses, and spinach. Heap potato, spinach and cheese mixture into potato shells.

To serve immediately:
Bake the filled potato shells at 400F for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

To Freeze:
Fill potato shells with spinach mixture, but don't reheat stuffed potato shells in oven. Freeze potatoes by placing them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes until hard. Pack the hardened potato shells into heavy duty freezer bags.

To serve:
remove from bag (as many as needed). Allow to thaw, place on a cookie sheet, or in shallow baking dish. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.