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.

An InLinkz Link-up