Quick 'N Easy Cookin' - Spinach and Mushroom Saute

Hello friends! Wow, I missed you guys...

Things have been so busy lately, I haven't had much time to devote to my blog. I have lots of ideas, have snapped some cool pix, even cooked a couple decent meals (FrankenMeatloaf, anyone? Hmmm...somehow I think that will not be a repeat in my house!)

We resorted a few times to take out, when there simply wasn't time at the end of a ten hour workday to create a decent meal. That doesn't cut it - I'm saving my extra calories for Valentine's Day, when I get to go out to a restaurant where they don't hand you a paper placemat and four-pack of crayons when you walk in. Oh, and they serve wine....lots and lots of wine. Someone, please wake me in time for the appetizers...

ANYWAY! In my never-ending quest for quick and easy (and relatively healthy) dishes, I started a mental list of super fast snacks and side dishes...maybe when I get really good at this, I'll even come up with a "15-Minute Meals" category... or better yet, 14-Minute Meals...yeah! I mean if you're looking for a quick meal and you see "15-Minute" and "14-Minutes", which one would YOU choose??? What? THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A 13- MINUTE MEAL!! THAT'S CRAAAZY!

Of all the veggies I like, spinach has got to be the quickest to prepare...unless you're my mother and boil everything to death. A quick steam or stir in a pan, and spinach is served! One Sunday dinner, I added a little something and ended up with a new favorite "fast" food....

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM SAUTE'

Ingredients:

1 16-oz bag spinach

Mushrooms - I'm using an 8-oz (I think...I didn't really look...) package of white mushrooms, but portabella, baby bella would do nicely.

2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Dash of Red pepper flakes

Clean and chop the mushrooms. I like to quarter them. Remember, they will shrink a lot while cooking, so be generous with our fungi friends.

Mince the garlic.

Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a BIG...really BIG...skillet, pot, Dutch oven. That spinach is going to take up a lot of room went it gets here...

Saute the mushrooms and garlic until the mushrooms are golden, kind of like this...

Add the spinach, and stir to distribute the mushrooms and garlic throughout the spinach.

Add in the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes any time now...and keep stirring until the spinach is wilted.

Serve right away...or let it sit around while you snap a few photos.

I think the mushrooms add a bit of weight to this dish - I love spinach plain and simple, but this is just a teeny bit more sophisticated.

And once the mushrooms and garlic are chopped, this can be ready in about 5 minutes!