Popeye I'm Not

I still maintain I don't like cooked spinach. But over and over again I find recipes with spinach that I really like..make that love! This week I've eaten more than a little spinach and plan to have more tonight.

Tuesday I made a batch of Spinach Bars to take to the covered dish lunch prior to the Town & Country Quilters meeting in Joplin. It's a recipe I've had for several years but I hadn't made it for awhile. They sure tasted good and I have to remember to make them more often. They make great snacks throughout the day.

Yesterday I tried a new recipe for a veggie lasagna. In the past I've made spinach-lasagna roll-ups, a recipe of my own creation. Those are good, but this new recipe with more veggies is totally awesome! I made a big pan and we'll have left-overs tonight. I also froze four single servings that we can pull out for an easy lunch some day when we're quilting or just not wanting to cook.

So I'm still never going to be a fan of eating plain old cooked spinach. But man this is good stuff!

Spinach Bars
3 eggs
1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup flour
¾ lb. Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
1 pkg Original Hidden Valley dressing mix
2 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed & drained

Beat eggs together; add flour & dressing mix. Stir in margarine. Add cheese & spinach (batter will be thick). Spread in 9/13" buttered pan. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Cool & cut in 1-inch squares. May top with dab of sour cream to serve. May be frozen ahead of time.

Veggie Lasagna

2 C. chopped fresh or frozen broccoli
1 1/2 C shredded or julienned carrots
1 C chopped green onions ( I used yellow)
1/2 C. chopped sweet red or green pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 C flour
3 C milk
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 1/2 C small-curd cottage cheese
1 C (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese
12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Saute' the vegetables and garlic in oil until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, whisk the flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; add 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute longer or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Set 1 cup aside.

In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella and Swiss. Spread 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture in a greased 13 X 9 X 2" baking dish. Layer with four noodles, half of the cheese mixture and vegetables and 3/4 cup of the spinach mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, reserved spinach mixture and remaining Parmesan cheese.

Cover and bake at 375º for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. 12 servings

I used a blend of cheeses..Parmesan, Romano, asiago, mozzarella. An awesome vegetarian dish!

Let me know if you try either and like them (or not).