Tuesday, October 15, 2013

A Quickie on the Side

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about quick side dishes. I mean, have you ever been ready to put dinner on the table and realized you forgot something green? Well, that happened to me the other night. And it was spinach to the rescue.

Spinach, you say?

Yes, spinach. I like spinach. Just depends on how it's cooked. But wilted spinach is my favorite. It's uber quick and so easy. And you only need three ingredients. Fresh spinach, a little bit of butter, and some garlic.

 
Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter (I used one tablespoon in a 12 inch skillet) in a large skillet or wok and sauté the minced garlic for a few minutes.
 
Now add your spinach. I know this looks like a lot, but spinach is one of those things that cooks way, way down, so you want to start out with about four times as much you plan to serve.
(Yes, I know my stove is dirty. I was breading chicken fried venison and there is no tidy way to do that:)
 
Toss the spinach, butter and garlic together.
 
Continue to toss. The spinach will start to wilt very quickly.
See how much it's cooked down.
 
Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper and serve.
 
This is only enough for hubby and I. And to think, I started with all that spinach.
 
What's great about this quick side is that it's fresh veggies. No cans involved.
 
When you need a fast and easy side dish, what do you reach for?
 
 
 

18 comments:

  1. I'm laughing so hard I don't know if I can see to read the recipe.

    I'll be back after the laughter subsides.

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  2. LOL! I busted up at the first line! My husband just cracked an eye and looked over at me. "Shhhh, honey. Just go back to sleep. Nothing to see her," I say, giggling.

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    1. Too funny, Virginia! That's what you get for reading in bed. I hope he did go back to sleep. My husband is a light sleeper, so I would have heard about it in the morning.

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  3. That's so funny, TEX!!!!!

    I hated spinach until I found thrice washed organic baby spinach at Wegman's and now it's a LOVE FEST. I love the stuff. It's not sandy or grainy or weird, it's just down and out delicious! Tex, I love your notion of a quickie! At my age, it's the perfect definition!!!! :)

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    1. You're right, Ruthy. About the organic baby spinach. It is the best. Sometimes I have to grab what I can find, since I use it in my smoothies every morning and am usually too lazy to go to another store.

      And what do you mean at your age? Girl, you are way to young to be talking like that.

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  4. I will never forget my mom always saying " You always need a Protein, Starch & Vegetable, and it can't be potatoes & corn has to be something green" :)

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  5. Allison, I was taught the same thing. Which stinks since I love both potatoes and corn. Could eat them all the time. Which is probably why my mother was so emphatic. :)

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  6. Mindy, I do the exact same thing when I need a quickie side dish! I love it. But your'e right. It takes a ton to feed more than 2 people. Of course, I don't usually need to feed more than 2 because the kids won't touch it with a ten foot pole. :)

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    1. Missy, why did give we give our kids those poles anyway? We should have known they'd never use them. :P

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  7. BTW, your title totally caught my attention too!!! LOL

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  8. Okay, back!!! I love spinach. Love wilted spinach. Never thought about garlic with it. Silly me. Thank you for feeding my stomach and my soul. I can't wait to see how you Promo'd this on FB.

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    1. Oops. I've been head down in revisions and haven't even thought about doing FB promos for a few days now. My bad. No telling what I would have come up with for this. :)

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  9. And I make a romaine side salad when I need something FAST.

    His: lettuce and tomato and cheese Mine: lettuce, tomato, cucs, garbanzo beans, croutons, raisins and seeds and too much cheese.

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    1. My salad is always more jacked up than hubby's. I like sunflower seeds, radishes, tomatoes and sugar snap peas. He likes to add only bacon bits and cheese. Salad, though, is another thing my boys refuse to pick up the pole for. :)

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  10. hmm kinda embarrassing but my quick go-to side dish is to nuke a can of green beans...works...!

    Susanna

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    1. It happens, Susanna. There's a reason I keep a can in my pantry:)

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