Monday, May 26, 2014

Secret Recipe Club-Pasta in Spinach Cream Sauce

I am so excited to tell you all about a new club that I joined.

The Secret Recipe Club


This is a very cool site and a great club that I have been wanting to join ever since I started blogging.  I found it through my friend, Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures., who was also my main inspiration and help when I decided to start my blog.  One of the requirements is that you have at least one hundred recipes on your blog.  Once you meet that requirement you are able to get on the list to join and, if you are like me, wait impatiently for there to be an opening in the membership.

Each month we are given a member's blog to peruse and find a recipe that you would like to try.  The members do not know who has been assigned to them, hence the secret part.  You have a month to find a recipe and make it.  On an assigned Reveal Date you post about the recipe you made and how it turned out for you.  This is the date that you also find out who got your blog, what they decided to create and how it turned out for them.  How much fun is that!!!  I get giddy over these things!!

For this month's reveal I was assigned to Enriching Your Kid!  This is an interesting blog written by Shirley, a clinical psychologist who decided to stay home when she had children.  This is a decision that I admire.  Not everyone is able to, financially and/or emotionally, stay home to raise their children but I believe that it is a good choice for those who are able.

There is a huge section on baby foods that I am very excited about because we are having a grandchild in September!!!  My babies are all adults now and I am very excited about having a grandbaby.  I can't wait to try some of the healthy and delicious sounding recipes that this site has just for babies!!

The other neat thing about Enriching Your Kid is that Shirley appears to be from India and her recipes seem very exotic to me.  I had so much fun perusing them all trying to choose which recipe I wished to make.

I finally decided on Pasta in Spinach Cream Sauce.  This actually gave me an opportunity to try two of Shirley's recipes because the Enriched Spinach Puree was needed to make the Spinach Cream Sauce.  This is my first blog post for SRC so I am not sure if I am breaking the rules by doing so, but I am including both recipes here today for you to try.

I made the spinach puree first.  It called for a few items that I could not find so I did without some of them and substituted for others.  I could not find dried fenugreek leaves, so I omitted them. I also substituted 1 garlic clove, minced and 1 t. minced ginger for the 2 t. ginger/garlic paste called for in the recipe. The last change I made was to use cream instead of evaporated milk.  I needed cream for the Pasta recipe and saw no reason to open a can of evaporated milk for the small amount needed in the Puree.  This made much more than I needed for the Pasta in Spinach Cream Sauce but I read through Shirley's comments and responses and learned that it can be frozen for future use.  This is good because I will be using it in the future.


Enriched Spinach Puree
adapted from Enriching Your Kids

1 T. olive oil
5 oz. organic baby spinach
1 med. onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t. ginger paste
1 tomato, chopped
1 T. half and half 
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over med high heat in large saute pan.  Add onion, garlic and ginger, saute until translucent and fragrant.  Add tomato and continue cooking, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add spinach and cook until wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper.  Place contents of pan into a food processor along with the half and half and puree until smooth.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.  



I made the Pasta in Spinach Cream Sauce with some minor changes, adapting the ingredients to make enough to feed five adults.  It is a perfect Meatless Monday meal.  Thanks Shirley!!

We enjoyed this meal very much.
I mentioned that if I made it again I might leave out the tomato sauce to keep that vibrant green color, add a little more garlic and maybe some crushed red pepper to add a little bit of  a kick since I have no little ones that I'm  feeding.
My husband said he thought it was perfect as is and reached for a second helping.


Pasta in Spinach Cream Sauce
adapted from Enriching Your Kids

2 c. pasta (I used a mixture of elbow macaroni and small shells), cooked per package directions
1 T. olive oil1/4 c. half and half
1 small onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. Enriched Spinach Puree
1/4 c. Tomato Sauce
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over med high heat until translucent and fragrant.  Add the cream, spinach puree, tomato sauce and seasonings cook until slightly thickened.  Add the pasta and toss until coated thin with a little of the pasta cooking water if needed.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy.




34 comments:

  1. Spinach cream sauce for pasta, sounds delicious! I often add spinach to pasta, but usually as a pesto or just briefly wilted - this is just a little more decadent, and I love the sound of it ;-)

    Happy Reveal Day!

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    1. It reminded me very much of my pesto sauce. We love spinach around here also and use it with pasta frequently. Thanks for stopping by Sally, I am happy to be part of SRC

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  2. This looks delicious! Congrats on your first reveal.

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    1. Thank you Rebecca but I think I did something wrong. For some reason the recipes listed are from last month's reveal

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  3. Hey Wendy,
    A big and warm welcome to you into the SRC. Fantastic job on your first reveal, the substitutions are also perfect! Yes you seem to have put last months code in the link up. You need to go to the SRC site and then to the members only section, go to group D and you'll get the latest code. If it still doesnt work, let us know on the fb page and we'll be glad to help.

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    1. Well it did work and now I have both weeks worth up there. Oh well I will live and learn. Thank you Shirley.

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  4. Welcome to the club!! What a great alternative to pesto. This sounds like a great quick meal, which I am always on the look-out for. Great pick this month! :)

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  5. Welcome (again) to Secret Recipe Club and good job on your first reveal day! Love the recipes you chose - I'm going to have to make them soon. They look so good and I cannot get enough spinach! Happy Reveal Day1

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    1. Thank you Sarah. I am glad I wrote the post properly just some minor problems with the link up.

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  6. Yum! I love the idea of this sauce. But I think you have the wrong link up code. The looks like last months recipes.

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  7. Just give me a straw for that spinach sauce! Great SRC pick!

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  8. Forget the pasta, give me a spoon and I'll eat the sauce as is! Yum! Happy Reveal day Wendy!

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    1. Thanks April. It would be like enjoying a big serving of creamed spinach

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  9. Sounds delicious! And such a pretty color, too! :)

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    1. Thanks Jess, I think it would have been even prettier had I not added the tomato sauce.

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  10. Happy Reveal Day! This looks great! I will definitely have to try it.

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    1. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Shirley had some incredible recipes from which I could choose.

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  11. Welcome to the club! I love cream sauces and really should add more spinach to my diet - I think this could do the trick. :) Great choice.

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  12. Welcome to SRC! Great pick for your first month. I love the addition of the ginger in the spinach puree. And now I'm in the mood for a pasta dinner!

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    1. I'm a carboholic Susan so I am always in the mood for pasta LOL.

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  13. Congrats on the grandchild!!! You will love it. It is completely different from being a parent... it's hard to describe. Great sauce!

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  14. Yumm!! This looks like a wonderful way to incorporate spinach into a meal - my son is not a fan, but I would love to see what he thought of it prepared this way! Great pick this month!

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    1. Thanks Rebekah, your son will not even no the spinach is there.

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  15. I love spinach and this sounds like a great weeknight meal. The enriched spinach puree looks amazing! Welcome to SRC :)

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    1. Thanks for the kind welcome, everyone has been very nice.

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  16. Wow. What a great choice - this sounds delicious. Welcome to SRC - I'm relatively new to the group to and I'm loving meeting such a great group of bloggers.
    Sue :-)

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  17. Oh my, this looks delicious!!! Definitely going to make this & so happy to be your blogging inspiration! :)

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    1. I think you will like it Amy and it is a good way to sneak some spinach to the boys.

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