Creamed Spinach

Ok, it's an oldie but a goodie!!  I love creamed spinach at Thanksgiving!  There are about a million recipes for it but here are two of my favorites!

PS the photo is of the second recipe : ) This first one is a pretty traditional recipe that I do. 

Creamed Spinach 

What you'll need: 

3 tbsp. butter 

1/4 cup flour 

2 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature 

Kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

2 pounds spinach, stems removed 

1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks 

What you'll do: 

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth.  Continuing to whisk, cook until the mixture lightens in color, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk, couple pinches of salt and the nutmeg. Return to medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking.  Remove from the heat again and stir to cool it slightly. Meanwhile, warm up a deep pan over medium heat.  Add the spinach and a large pinch of salt; cover and cook about 3 minutes or until it just starts to wilt. Toss with tongs, then continue to wilt, uncovered, about 2 more minutes. Drain and cool slightly, then press the spinach in a strainer until mostly dry.  You can also use a paper towel at the end to get the rest of the moisture.  Place it on a cutting board and give it a rough chop. Gently reheat the sauce, then whisk in the whole egg and yolks.  (Make sure to whisk them in good!  You don't want scrambled eggs in your spinach!)  Continue to stir, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. 

Now that recipe is pretty good, but seriously, the best creamed spinach I've ever had has got to be how my Grandma made it!  It may seem a little, what I like to call "trashy", but it is the best recipe ever!

  Grandma's Creamed Spinach 

3 large bags frozen chopped spinach (or you can use fresh spinach, I do.) 

1 can cream of mushroom soup 

1 cup (or a little more) mayonnaise (or veganaise) 

1 small can french fried onions 

Place the frozen spinach in saucepan.  Cook on medium low until all the spinach is defrosted.  Drain spinach and then take a small amount at a time and squeeze against a strainer to remove as much liquid as possible.  Put this spinach in a bowl.  After squeezing out all the spinach, add mushroom soup and mayonnaise.  Mix well to make sure there are no areas of plain spinach.  Turn mixture into a baking dish and top with onions.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until bubbling. Seriously so good! I hope you enjoy!  

I can't wait for Thanksgiving!

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