Thursday, September 9, 2010

Great Pantry Experiment Update - Frozen Spinach

September is a third of the way done which means it's time to check in on how the Great Pantry Experiment is going. The main point of doing this was to stay on budget or come in a little under and to use everything in the cupboards to help reach this goal. Is it bad that I'm already half way to our budget and it's only the 9th? We'll see. I did do a major haul over the weekend so here's to hoping it lasts us awhile and I'm only visiting the market to pick up produce. What I have accomplished is using three bags of frozen spinach. I stock up on the stuff since it's nutritious and there is a ton of stuff you can make with it. Spinach is loaded with anti-oxidants, vitamins, and iron. Frozen spinach stays good for up to 8 months and is fairly inexpensive so it's a cheap way to boost your health. I do buy the organic since spinach is on the EWG's Dirty Dozen list and a bag runs less than $1.50 at Trader Joe's. So here's what I've made with the green stuff in the last week. Mixed it into a marinara sauce served with whole wheat pasta, made a spinach artichoke bacon dip which we ate more as a meal (pure gluttony but it's oh so good and low-fat), used it as a topping on mini-pizzas, and as the main ingredient in a frittata. Well the eggs were the main ingredient but the spinach ran a close second. The frittata turned out really awesome and was a spontaneous creation.

4 Eggs
3 Egg Whites
Salt & Pepper
Garlic PowderFrozen Spinach (about 10 ounces)
Sliced White Onion
Any leftover veggies you need to use (we did red potatoes and mushrooms)
Any Shredded White Cheese

Super easy. Set the oven to broil. Mix the eggs with a pinch of salt, dash of pepper, dash of garlic powder, and a handful of shredded white cheese. Sautee the onion then add in the leftover cooked veggies.  Fold in the egg mixture and cook until the bottom looks done and the top is bubbling. Pull it off of the stove, throw some more cheese on top then pop it into the oven. It should take about four minutes to set but could be shorter or longer depending on your oven. Just look for the top to start turning the golden brown then you know it's done. Take it out and cut like a pie and you've got dinner and leftovers for breakfast.
Tasty Score 9   Healthy Score 9

Next up in the Great Pantry Experiment, figuring out what to make with four cannisters of steel cut oats.

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