Sneaky Spinach for the Win!

So last Monday I got to go back to Disneyland for he first time in 2 months! All the Excite! Not only did I get to go play again, I got to go with my "sisters from another Mister". DJ got us each a pin of the 3 Peas in a Pod from Toy Story 3 to make it official. The three of us are pinned and are going steady with each other. But not romantically, just in life.

Anyway, to the recipe for today, I was on the phone with Husband and I inquired about what sort of food he wanted to late dinners this week (he is working eves right now). He asked about what we had to work with. Well I was at Disney, so I asked him what was in the pantry. He said 3 different types of pasta and I knew what vegetables we had in the good old fridge/bread box (we don't eat a lot of bread so our tomatoes make it in there more often than not).  So I found this recipe on Pinterest.

Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 pint cherry tomatoes

olive oil

kosher salt

pinch of sugar

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb baby spinach

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 avocado, chopped

1/4 cup basil

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375.  Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and a pinch of sugar.  Put on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing once midway through.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking water for the sauce.

As the pasta cooks, saute the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet until softened, 5-6 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook about 30 seconds more, or until fragrant.  Add in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, waiting until the previous bunch has started to wilt before adding the second.

Remove from heat and stir the Greek yogurt and avocado into the pan.  Add 2-3 tbsp of the reserved pasta water and, using an immersion blender (or a food processor), puree the mixture until smooth, adding more pasta water as needed to give it a sauce-like consistency.

Stir in the basil and parmesan.  Add the noodles to the sauce, tossing well to coat.  Serve the noodles topped with a spoonful of the roasted tomatoes.

Hmm ....spinach creaminess...

A dash of Parm and TADA! Yum!

I only had to go out to buy an avocado and Parmesan cheese. Boom, cost effectiveness! The alterations to the dish I made were that after I roasted the tomato (I also through in a few leftover sliced of green pepper and zucchini), I just stirred them in instead of serving them over the dish. Make it look a bit more "slop like", but I think that is added to the flavor having the veggies dispersed. I also did a small bite pasta instead of spaghetti simply because it is what we had. One thing I should have changed is that I that I should have chopped up the zucchini and green bell pepper I added as it would have been a better choice to disperse the flavor better and not interrupt the eating process quite as much.

This dish is a winner. An incredibly simple to make and an even better way to use the spinach that might be going bad soon. Husband thought it was solid and enjoyed it greatly. I am hoping that my someday maybe kids will like it too so I know they will get all the green stuff they need. The roasted tomatoes are like candied delicacies and I have every intention to try this dish with a bit of sun dried tomato sometime and maybe a bit of goat cheese instead of Greek yogurt... you know, to make it FAncy.

Until the next meal...