Cooking Challenge: Spinach

inskydiamonds

Welcome to the fourth round of the cooking challenge! This week's ingredient comes to us from stuartme123 who was the winner of the Greek yogurt challenge.



This week's challenge is SPINACH!

Spinach is absolutely full of things that our bodies love, like potassium, tons of different vitamins, iron, calcium, and amino acids to just touch the surface. The properties of spinach have been used to prevent diabetes and skin diseases, as well as strengthening the immune system. Spinach also prevents constipation and colon cancer.

Spinach (100 grams)
23 calories
0 grams fat
0 mg cholesterol
79 mg sodium
558 mg potassium
4 grams carbs
2 grams dietary fiber
3 grams protein

These are the rules for the challenge:

1. You don't need to have created the recipe from scratch, but you DO need to make it.
2. Voting will be put up for the challenge and the winner of the challenge will pick the next ingredient to be used.
3. Pictures are encouraged but not required. If you want to post a picture upload it on a website like photobucket.com or tinypic.com . If there's any questions about how to do that, don't be shy to ask me.
4. You do need to post the recipe you used so other people can try it too, if they so please.
5. If you used a recipe from another source give credit to the original creator!
6. Your recipe can be a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert! Anything!

Fill out the following form to play:

NAME OF RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
CALORIES PER SERVING:
HOW MANY IT SERVES:
OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC:
PICTURE (optional):

Voting for this challenge will begin next Saturday at 5PM Pacific Standard Time.

Aeriel

bump until I can make my recipe

Healthyby30

Bump

Mirabilis

NAME OF RECIPE: Mirii's Really Simple Spinach and Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS: 2c. spinach, 15g light feta cheese, 50g raspberries, 15g walnuts, 15ml Litehouse Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (30ml if you like), and 150g of chicken breast, fully cooked, but weigh it before cooking. For those who are metrically challenged, 15g or 15ml is 1 tbsp (or about 1/2 oz.). If you prefer, a no fat raspberry yogurt can be substituted for the dressing and you might even be able to use more because it's no fat -- use a good probiotic.

DIRECTIONS: Start with the spinach in a salad bowl, then layer raspberries, walnuts, feta and chicken breast, topping off with the dressing. A very colourful salad and so very good for you.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 389-439
Spinach - 14
Raspberries - 25
Feta - 45
Walnuts - 105
Chicken - 150
Dressing - 50 - 100

HOW MANY IT SERVES: 1 (make it per person), but it's a big single serving

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: Well I think it's divine, but I'm a bit partial. As a variation, try tinned mandarin oranges, slivered almonds and orange sesame dressing.

meagalayne

I LOVE spinach! I don't even know where to begin... I eat spinach almost every day. This is going to be interesting Thanks Liz (and stuartme123) for this challenge! XOXO

Cytherea

Saw that it was spinach and I just had to enter- I've had the worst craving for my family's Italian spinach so I've made it twice within the past week! lol!


NAME OF RECIPE: Sauteed Spinach, Italian Style (aka, Mom's Spinach)

INGREDIENTS: fresh spinach, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt

DIRECTIONS:

Wash the spinach VERY well!!!! (Let it drain/dry a little bit, but don't pat it dry or anything like you would for a salad. Some moisture is required for it to cook properly.)

Cut the stems off the spinach!!!!

For each bundle of spinach, you need 3 garlic cloves and one tablespoon of EVOO. Remember, the spinach cooks down to practically nothing, so use a LOT more than you think you need. The first time I made it, I used two bundles for my husband and I and it was NOT enough. The next time, I made 4 total (2 each) and it was perfect.

Slice the garlic cloves into small thin slices. Add EVOO to a large frying pan and heat over low heat. Add garlic and saute until garlic softens and begins to be a golden brown (NOT brown though, it will be too done!). Add spinach to the pan. Sprinkle with salt (to taste) and then cover. Turn the pan up to about medium heat. As it begins to cook down, use tongs to "flip" the spinach so that the top layers of spinach get cooked and the garlic and olive oil gets evenly distributed. It will take about 5 minutes to cook. You'll know it is done when all of the spinach has cooked down and is dark green in color (but still obviously green... too done and it will be so dark it almost looks black!). There may be some water left in the pan; it won't all cook off. DO NOT DRAIN IT.

Generally, in my house, my mother served this as a side. I made it into a meal. Just cook some pasta, drain it, and throw it into the pan with the spinach when it is just about done cooking. Mix together so the pasta is coated (in this case, the extra water in the pan is definitely needed).

Enjoy!! :flowerforyou:

CALORIES PER SERVING: 2 bundles w/ 2 tbsp EVOO & 6 garlic cloves: 346 (if you use pasta you'd add that amount, of course)

HOW MANY IT SERVES: 4 bundles serves 2 people

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: Absolutely amazing. First thing I ever made that actually came out *exactly* like mom makes it! lol. It was so good, my husband begged me to make it again the next day! And I did

Such a simple recipe but it packs a lot of flavor, and is filling and good for you! The one thing is that it does have a lot of fat because of the EVOO... you can use less if you want, but I haven't experimented with it myself (through I probably will next time). But at least it is a GOOD fat, right?

I hope you guys try it, and enjoy it! Do let me know!

Sparklewolfie

XD The day I bought my sweet potatoes I was actually itching for spinach, too!! Unfortunately, spinach appears to be in short supply here, so I will have to sit this one out again But I want to see everybody's recipes!!!

Aeriel

NAME: Year Round Spinach Dip (from The Best of The Best cookbook , Best of Bridge Series)

WHAT I THOUGHT: I make this for every family function and love it. All my friends want the recipe and have started making it for their friends and families. I modified with light mayo and light sour cream to help the calories and fat a little bit.

RECIPE / INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (250 mL) light mayonnaise
1 cup (250 mL) light sour cream
10 oz (283g) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well squeezed)
8 oz (236 mL) can of water chestnuts, chopped
1.5 oz (40 g) package Knorrs vegetable soup mix (1 package)
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped green onion

Bread or crackers of choice.

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients, except bread, and mix well. Best if chilled overnight at least. Keeps for about 1 week in fridge, but rarely lasts that long! :laugh:

I usually serve with whole wheat baguettes cut into finger size pieces. This is the best recipe for spinach dip I have ever had, and I never buy store bought any more.

SERVING SIZE: Dip itself serves about 8 people, and made with my ingredients, was 159 calories per serving. Bread or crackers adds more calories that have to be taken into account separately. I just weigh the total dip once it is made and know how many grams go into a serving by what number I choose to divide it by.

NUTRITION: (based on 8 servings)

(Calories, Carbs, Fat, Protein, Iron, Calcium)
Total: 1269 89 88 33 44 73
Per Serving: 159 11 11 4 6 9

Hope you enjoy it!

carmen1485

*Bump* Well that's decided one meal for this week.

timbotina

bumping, the only thing I know to make with spinach is wedding soup...so boring....I will look forward to other recipies

Holton

bump for future reference as this sounds very interesting!

stuartme123

I love spinach, but I can never finish it before it goes bad (have to buy it at least 10 oz at a time!) Hoping to use it all up this week - I hate wasted food!

UpToAnyCool

Saw that it was spinach and I just had to enter- I've had the worst craving for my family's Italian spinach so I've made it twice within the past week! lol!


NAME OF RECIPE: Sauteed Spinach, Italian Style (aka, Mom's Spinach)

INGREDIENTS: fresh spinach, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt

Props to Cytherea for her recipe (I quoted part of it here for reference)! I eat tons of spinach, usually prepared similarly to her Mom's recipe. For some extra acidity, try adding some fresh lemon juice!

Happy eating!

melodyg

bump

immacookie

Tagging for later... I bought stuff to make my spinach mushroom soup, I just have to measure my ingredients out this time for the nutritional calc. :bigsmile:

ElvenMother427

Bump

immacookie

Spinach Mushroom Soup (Makes 4 servings, 2 cups ea)

**note, I never make soup the same way twice, so please run your own nutritional breakdown depending on what YOU put in it, below I used a couple of pre-cooked leftover items.

3 cups of broth of choice (I made my own)
3 cups of water
8 oz pork loin (I had this as leftovers already cooked in the fridge, use what meat you prefer - I also measured for 2oz of protein per serving, please adjust if you usually have more!)
1 bag (6oz?) Fresh Express Baby Spinach Leaves
Half container of fresh sliced mushrooms (approx 4 oz)
Half of a medium onion, chopped
Garlic to taste (I used 2 TBL of minced garlic, I love garlic)
1.5 TBL dried thyme
2 tsp cumin
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup of half and half
2 cups of cooked rice (I used basmati, again leftovers - this works out to 1/4 cup of rice per serving, adjust to your needs)
__________________________

Bring water and stock to a boil, cook your meat in this if it is not already cooked (see my note above, I had leftovers). Add meat, onion, garlic, mushrooms and spices. Let simmer for about 20 min. Add entire bag of spinach and stir well, let simmer another 20 min. Finish with half and half and stir until warmed through.
Add 1/4 cup of cooked rice to each 2 cup container (I use ziploc 2 cup with the screw on lids) and fill will soup. You could also cook the rice IN the soup, you need to keep an eye on the liquid and add more water as necessary.

Below are my "best estimate" for nutritional analysis based on what I actually used above.

Per Serving: Calories 290 Carbs 25 Fat 10 Protein 24 Sodium 443

healthydoseofglitter

My favorite salad of all time. I got this at one of my favorite diners and created my own version. I eyeball this so I am not sure of the exact measurements but I will try to put some so you get the idea. I have a picture of it but I am not sure how to upload it on here.

Marilyn Monroe Salad (thats what it is called at the place)
- baby spinach about 2-3 cups (depending on how hungry I am)
- mango (cut up a few pieces if you measure probably about 1/4 cup)
- strawberries (same as above cut up and slice about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
- cucumbers (I love cucumbers so I do half cut cup)
- low fat moz. string cheese (cut up into pieces)
- grilled chicken breast (standard 4oz)
- balsmic vinegar (about 2-3 tbsp)
- olive oil (I dont use olive oil because I love vinegar but some people need the oil taste)

Mix it all together. They serve theirs with a half of pita cut up. I used a thomas everything bagel thin to save on calories. You dont really need the bread though, I just like it. Thats just one serving.

Hope that makes sense, if I remember later when I get home I'll add the picture to my profile because I know how to do that lol.

♥jewelchristian♥

Bump

nomoremuffintopness

I love spinach. I eat it almost everyday. Usually I get raw spinach and spray it with olive oil, microwave for 30 seconds, fresh squeezed lemon juice and fresh parmesan... its delish!!!!!

kjensen15

BUMP... i love spinach... wish my husband did!!