Greek Frittata with Spinach and Potato

I admit it. I'm a Costco shopper. I know that not everything there is a good deal and buying in bulk goes slightly against my anti-hoarding tendencies, but I really do like a lot of the items that they offer.  One item in particular (and this may sound silly) is their bag of baby spinach.  They sell a 5 lb bag of cleaned, trimmed, baby spinach leaves for $5.  That is way more than I can produce out of my garden and for $1/lb cleaned and trimmed, how can I say no?

However, I don't like to waste either. We do have a compost heap in the backyard to properly recycle food scraps, but I still don't like having to toss food out.  So once I buy this rather large bag of spinach leaves, I must dig out all my spinach recipes and put them to work. This recipe is a new one, but certainly one that I will use again.  This one was inspired from Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best as it's one of those "suggested recipes" where they only give you the idea and not the "how-to."  It was really easy and ready to eat in less than 40 minutes with minimal hands-on time.  This made for a delicious dinner but could also be served for lunch or breakfast.

Greek Frittata with Spinach and Potato
Inspired by Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best
Serves 4-6

8 eggs
4 cups raw baby spinach (or a 10-oz frozen package of chopped spinach, thawed and drained well)
4 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon fresh dill (or 2 tablespoons dried)
1/2 cup heavy cream (though milk would be fine also)
3 cups diced potatoes (I used a package of frozen diced as I didn't have any fresh but make sure they are thawed)
salt and pepper to taste


Heat the oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet (oven safe). Cook the potatoes until almost done. Add the scallions for just a few minutes.  During this time, mix the eggs and cream together in a separate bowl.

Add the spinach into the skillet and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Turn the heat down to medium low.  You want to steam the spinach until it wilts, but do not stir.  This should take a few minutes.  When it looks wilted, sprinkle the feta and dill above the spinach. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Add a dash of salt and pepper on the top (optional).

Turn the heat down to low and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the top is almost set.  Slide under a preheated broiler to finish cooking and brown the top. Cut into wedges and serve hot or cold.  For lunch or dinner, serve with a fresh green salad.

Macaroni and Cheese with Spinach Bake

Whenever I watch a movie or television program that involves a prisoner on death row ordering their last meal ever, it doesn't take me but 2 seconds to know what I would order (not that I'm planning to be on death row anytime soon). I have a small, guilty (and sometimes embarrassing) pleasure in that I love macaroni and cheese.  I'm sure I've tried them all but in the end I always come back to the blue box that is Kraft (the spiral noodles are my favorite).  I don't even know why.  Sure, it's enriched white pasta with processed powdered cheese but I will eat it without a second thought and defend my bowl to the end when I see my daughters coming towards me with a spoon for a bite.  I've even gone so far as to put in the blender after 3 occasions of oral surgery where I could not chew anything.  (It doesn't look so hot, but if you close your eyes it tastes the same.)

In any case, sometimes I need a grown-up version of mac & cheese to serve when entertaining.  This recipe fits the bill as you can use a whole-grain pasta and the spinach adds a strong nutritional component.  This is another super easy recipe that works well for a crowd.  As long as the kids don't have an aversion to anything green in their food they usually gobble it up without hesitation.

Macaroni and Cheese with Spinach Bake
Taken from Easy Everyday
Serves 4

8 oz. macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
15 oz cooked spinach, well drained (frozen spinach also works well here)
3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
large ovenproof dish

Cook the macaroni according to the package instructions.
Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from the heat, and mix in the flour to make a roux.  Return to a low heat and slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Drain the macaroni and add to the sauce along with the spinach, seasoning, and half the cheese.   Mix well.  Pour the mixture into the ovenproof dish, scatter the remaining cheese on top, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until golden.




(I confess that I didn't take this picture.  Sometimes the hunger is too overwhelming for the family that I forget to take my own picture. I have borrowed this photo from the cookbook Easy Everyday. But I swear it looks just like the photo and tastes just as good as it looks!)