frozen spinach, need help

[relizabeth]

Hi, We are moving in 2 weeks and must empty out the fridge and freezer. For some reason I have bags and bags of frozen spinach that seem very daunting. Any good vegetarian ideas? I'll make a spanakopita to bring to a bbq later in the week. And a spinach souffle one night. What else is good? I have already used up all the canned tomatoes, so they won't work as an ingredient.

[onrushpam]

This may sound weird, but do you have a dog? If so, steam/sautee/microwave it and add to Fido's dinner. It's really good for dogs and they love it! :-)

[gastronomy]

Thaw and squueze water- Sautee in a pan with lots of chopped garlic and some oilive oil s&p and then puree. Mash some potatos with a little buter, chicken broth, salt and pepper. and then stir in the spincah puree. Sometimes I like to add grated parm to the spinach mixture. It is really yummy- Even my husband who claims he does not like spinach likes this one. My 9 month old loves this too (minus the salt of course).

[BigSal]

Tortilla de espinacas (Spanish omelette with spinach). Simple, but delicious.

[BamiaWruz]

After reading through the indian dinner party thread it reminded me of another one of my favourite dishes with frozen spinach, our pakistani friends always made it when we visited - it's a spinach and potato curry but it has a dash of ground fenugreek in it, it's wonderful!!
If you love curries you'll probably enjoy it. I don't have the exact recipe but it's definitely something you don't have to add any heat in if you don't want, sautee garlic, onion, add cubed potato and toss in the oil, brown some curry spices or a paste and add water (stock?) Frozen spinach and a dash of the ground fenugreek. Stir, simmer and eat with rice or bread when potatoes are tender (it tastes better the next day as most curries do)

If anyone has the correct recipe of name of the dish please correct me on the method or fill in any blanks I may have forgotten.

[goodhealthgourmet]

that's Aloo Palak. it typically contains spinach, potato, onion, salt, green chilies, ginger and fenugreek...you can personalize from there to suit your own taste with additional spices (cumin, coriander garam masala, cayenne, curry powder, turmeric, etc).

[Jetgirly]

I am a vegetarian, but I basically put frozen chopped spinach in anything and everything. Almost all of my egg dishes (omlettes, frittatas, scrambled eggs, etc) have frozen spinach. When I stir-fry vegetables, I add in some frozen spinach as well. Same for soups, stews and chilis. Curries have spinach as well. It's good for you!

[BamiaWruz]

Thaw it, squeeze the water out and here are a few things I do with it.

-Cook it in some stock, add garlic and puree. Serve as a sauce for pasta. Throw walnuts in too if you want.

- Chop onions and toss with thawed spinach, add some salt, olive oil, lemon juice. Either stuff little dough circles or just spread it out over some store bought pizza dough or homemade, bake.

- Mix thawed spinach with some olive oil and dried mint (I've never tried this recipe with fresh mint but you probably can). Spread on pizza dough and bake, you can add some crumbled feta to this or the top option too.

or LASAGNA! yummy

[relizabeth]

Last night we made pasta with spinach and some cream. Delicious. Tonight, we are trying your spinach pizza topping! I'm going to add some persian currants to it as well.

[BamiaWruz]

I was trying to remember if my mother added some cream to it. I think I did once and it was delicious. So glad you enjoyed it!! The currants sound great, are they sour?

[relizabeth]

The currants add a nice sour note. Next time, I'll scatter them on top of the pizza after it comes out of the oven. Some of them got a bit too charred to add that nice sour note.

[thursday]

Thaw the frozen spinach in the microwave and squeeze to get out the excess water. Saute in olive oil with garlic until warm, toss with bacon bits and toasted pine nuts. You can serve as a side, but it's a heck of a nice main dish with a side of garlic bread, and it goes through the Spinach like gangbusters - we use one to one-and-a-half bags for just two people if we're having it as a main.

[sf toronto]

My favourite smoothie is made with spinach:
1 cup water
1-2 big handfuls of spinach (or any other green you have on hand e.g. chard, kale, etc)
half a grapefruit or juice of a lemon (whichever you prefer)
1 apple
1 of either peach or pear (this morning I had neither and used a bit of frozen mango and it was divine).

Blend... so yummy!!!

[jessicheese]

I like to sautee a pound of ground turkey with a few cloves of garlic and a package of thawed frozen spinach. Serve with cous cous and top with parmesan.
Also, Ina Garten's spinach gratin is wonderful and uses 5 packages of frozen spinach.

[Sarah]

Joe's Special: Brown ground beef and onions, add thawed & wrung out spinach & italian seasoning and saute until all is nice and fragrant; pour in beaten eggs and scramble until not overdone.

[LNG212]

We like to saute shallots (and maybe garlic), then add the spinach. Once most of the water is gone, we add a bit of goat cheese (chevre) and stir just till it melts and is creamy. A dash of nutmeg doesn't hurt either. Then use it as a "filling" on croissants. It makes a lovely sandwich for breakfast or a light dinner with a salad. And it's quick too.

[OCEllen]

Spinach with sour cream and a little coarse ground dijon mustard is delicious.

[Paulustrious]

Spinach and potato curry.
Risotto

[weezycom]

Black bean-ricotta-spinach enchiladas. So easy: A half bag or one box of frozen spinach, a small tub of ricotta cheese, a big handful of shreded jack cheese, a can of black beans rinsed and drained, a packet of taco seasoning, a small onion diced, a seeded & diced jalapeno. Mix together.

In a lasagne-sized pan, put down a skim layer of red or green enchilada sauce. Put the cheese mix into corn tortillas and roll & place seam-side down in the pan. spoon plenty of enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle generously with more jack cheese. Bake in a moderate oven until hot through (about 35-40 minutes).

[CreativeFoodie42]

I make a great spinach dip, which might be good for the barbecue. Just mix cream cheese, sour cream, crushed garlic, fresh cracked blacked pepper, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese with cooked drained spinach. Put it in a casserole dish and cook (at the bbq) at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. It is great with veggies, pitas or chips.

[shaogo]

I make a "Spinach Salad Soup" but it involves bacon.

Without the bacon, I'd caramelize a few onions in a saucepan, then add plenty of spinach and more onions (for the combination of cooked/raw onion flavor). Finish with equal amounts of apple cider vinegar and Vermont maple syrup.

Place this all in the food processor and puree thoroughly. Serve either hot (best) or cold.

When I make it with bacon, I just add a little bit.

It's your option whether or not to add some heavy cream for mouthfeel/richness, while the spinach is in the food processor.

[LaLa]

creamed spinach as a side dish

[Lewes17266]

There are some recipes for a spinach and cottage cheese baked dish that you can find online. The dish is low in fat, is delicious and easy. There are several variations of this baked dish but the ingredients always include eggs, thawed and drained frozen spinach, cottage cheese and some kind of other cheese. It comes out of the oven in about 45 minutes all bubbly and brown and puffed up like a souffle.

[goodhealthgourmet]

love this one.

i can't believe no one said quiche!

frozen spinach is also great for topping/filling baked potatoes.

[relizabeth]

This sounds great! I m trying to diet, so this will be fabulous.

[goodhealthgourmet]

you'll love it, and it doesn't seem like "diet" food at all! here's my easy, go-to version:

GHG’S CHEESY SPINACH CASSEROLE

2 boxes frozen spinach, defrosted, squeezed to remove as much water as possible
2 large cloves garlic, minced (approx. 1 heaping teaspoon)
1 large or two small onions, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
16 ounces low fat or fat free ricotta or cottage cheese
½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 large egg plus 5 large egg whites, lightly beaten
¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, divided
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt, optional (use if the cottage cheese or ricotta is low-sodium)
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375, and lightly grease a large casserole dish.

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onions begin to caramelize (approximately 10-15 minutes). Add spinach to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes or until any water has evaporated. Transfer to a large bowl and add the mozzarella, ¼ cup of Parmesan, spices, and egg mixture. Stir to combine - the mixture should be loose and more pourable than spoonable. (If it’s too thick, add another egg white or two.) Pour into prepared pan, and bake until edges are brown and middle is set. Bake at 375 for approximately 45 minutes, or until edges begin to brown slightly and center is set. Remove from oven, sprinkle the reserved 2 Tablespoons of grated cheese over the top, and stick under the broiler for a minute or two to brown.

[Soop]

Man just a big bowl of spinach with a little salt and some cracked black pepper :P
mmm-mmm!

[4Snisl]

One of my favorite lasagna recipes is a tomato-less lasagna, which involves layering noodles with:
-rosemary-infused bechamel sauce
-ricotta mixed with tons of thawed, squeezed spinach and fresh grated parmesan
-cooked mashed butternut squash/pumpkin (canned pumpkin works fine here), seasoned with rosemary, salt and pepper
-mozzarella cheese

Also, I often make stuffed mushrooms with a filling of thawed, squeezed spinach sauteed with olive oil, onions, garlic and chopped mushroom stems until very dry. Then stir in fresh breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese at the end. Fill the mushrooms, drizzle with a little more olive oil, pop on the grill or in a hot oven, and they are ready to go when they're well-browned.

[Allice98]

I am actually salivating over the lasagna... Being in the middle of kitchen remodel is killing me right now.... Do you ship? ;-)

Don't know why I didn't think of white sauce lasagna though.... probably because i make one that combines white and red sauce still.

[4Snisl]

Aw, thanks! If you have a toaster oven, you may be able to layer individual versions in ramekins, with wonton skins being kind of close to boiled, full size lasagna noodles. None of the other components need cooking unless you're using fresh squash.....

But I digress, and I'm being speculative. :) Good luck with the remodel, Allice!

And to the relizabeth, I forgot one more idea- palak paneer! I don't have a great recipe, usually just wing it, but I bet there's plenty out there on the internets. This looks pretty close to what I do:
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/0...

Except I sometimes use tofu cubes instead of paneer, and for health reasons, I may puree some of the tofu with milk as the "creamy finish", or stir in yogurt.

[Allice98]

I need a stove for the bechamel sauce ^sniffle^

I might have to try this with roasted squash this fall.... mashed or in slices it would be really good....

[relizabeth]

This sounds lovely! The in- laws are coming too for the 5 days before we move, and this will make a nice impressive dinner. They are German, so the lasagna they know has bechamel.

[lgss]

Any lentils or quinoa or brown rice? Throw some spinach in lentil soup or quinoa or rice pilaf. Also good with pasta and hummus.

[Allice98]

You could add some to an omelet.

Add to a soup with any other leftovers that you are trying to get rid of.

You said no canned tomatoes but maybe you have tomato sauce? So spinach lasagna.

Random casserole of some sort with other things you want to get rid of.