I thank you in advance.

Larry

Cheese-&-Spinach-Stuffed Portobellos

Here we take the elements of a vegetarian lasagna filling—ricotta, spinach and Parmesan cheese—and nestle them into roasted portobello mushroom caps. The recipe works best with very large portobello caps; if you can only find smaller ones, buy one or two extra and divide the filling among all the caps. Serve with a tossed salad and a whole-wheat dinner roll or spaghetti tossed with marinara sauce.

4 servings : Active Time: 20 minutes : Total Time: 40 minutes

•4 large portobello mushroom caps
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
•1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
•1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
•1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
•2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives
•1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
•3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Place mushroom caps, gill-side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
3 .Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on High until hot, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
4 .When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the caps. Return the caps to the pan gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon marinara into each cap; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm. Mound a generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.
Nutrition
Per serving : 201 Calories; 10 g Fat; 5 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 28 mg Cholesterol; 13 g Carbohydrates; 14 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 680 mg Sodium; 677 mg Potassium

here's another I found somewhere:

Ina Garten's sauteed spinach.

1 1/2 pounds baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Lemon
Sea or kosher salt, optional
Directions
Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it's very clean. Spin it dry in a salad spinner, leaving just a little water clinging to the leaves.

In a very large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it's browned. Add all the spinach, the salt, and pepper to the pot, toss it with the garlic and oil, cover the pot, and cook it for 2 minutes. Uncover the pot, turn the heat on high, and cook the spinach for another minute, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the spinach is wilted. Using a slotted spoon, lift the spinach to a serving bowl and top with the butter, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of sea or kosher salt. Serve hot.

Tyler Florence's Spinach Salad

4 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 loosely packed cups baby spinach
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until the shallot is tender and the butter turns a light brown color, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper. Pour over the spinach in a bowl and toss.

Becky

Savory Breakfast Bread and Sausage Pudding Recipe

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

From: Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes from Foster's Market , by Sara Foster

During the summer, friends from all over the country come and pile into our house at Lake Placid. I often make this before they arrive. The recipe calls for the bread pudding to sit in the refrigerator for an hour before it’s baked, giving the bread a chance to absorb the liquid; but it’s even better when it sits overnight. The next morning, all I have to do is bake it, and breakfast for eight is on the table.

What to serve when: This dish is so rich that I like to serve it with a mixed green salad, whether it’s for brunch or a light dinner.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/2 pound breakfast or Italian sausage, removed from the casing
4 cups spinach leaves, washed and drained (about 6 ounces or 1 large bunch)
2 1/2 cups milk
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups 1 1/2-inch cubes day-old country Italian or French bread
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
INSTRUCTIONS
Butter a 9×13-inch glass baking dish. Melt but don’t brown the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until it is soft and translucent. Add the sausage and cook about 4 minutes, breaking the sausage into pieces as it cooks, until it is cooked through. Stir in the spinach and sauté just until it is wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Drain off the liquid.
Whisk the milk, eggs, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the bread and stir to coat. Stir in the sausage, cheeses, thyme, and rosemary and pour into the prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Twenty minutes before you’re ready to bake the bread pudding, remove it from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Bake the bread pudding for 45 to 50 minutes, until it is puffy and light golden brown. Remove the bread pudding from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

Larry

1/3 cup butter
2 TBL olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves,minced
1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 small plum tomatoes, seeded & chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp each, salt & pepper
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 bunches fresh spinach, rinsed, drained, stems removed
1/2 cup heavy cream
Hot cooked rice or pasta

Melt the butter w/the olive oil ina large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots & garlic. Saute 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt & pepper. Saute until the shrimp begin to turn pink.
Add the sherry & spinach to the shrimp mixture. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes or until the spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cream. Heat through, stirring frequently. Serve over rice or pasta .~~

Posted by Sharon/Fl. on Mon, Aug 16, 99 at 19:38

Sharon's Homemade Sweet & Sour Bacon Dressing
**********************************
Fry 1lb. bacon in heavy pot till crisp. Drain & break into tiny pieces-not crumbled! Pour out
half the grease-leave rest in pot.
ADD:
****
5 eggs (beaten with a spoon)
5 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
MIX WELL.
ADD:
***
1 cup flour
5 tsps dry mustard
MIX WELL-use slotted spoon or whisk
ADD:
****
2 1/2 cups CIDER vinegar
5 cups water-Mix till well blended.

* Heat on medium-stirring often, but not constantly, as this lowers the cooking temperature.
In about 15-20 minutes, mixture will begin to thicken. Make sure you scrape sides of pot & the
bottom-often-don't let burn!
* Once it is as thick as a medium gravy-remove from heat, and add bacon and 2 TBS
margarine or butter.
DRESSING WILL THICKEN AS IT COOLS.
Sharon says: You may think this makes an awful lot-but it keeps in the fridge for 4
weeks--share with a neighbor!
Excellent on Spinach Salads, Baked Potatoes, or just lettuce. Really good if you microwave a
serving for 30 seconds or till just warm.
ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY.
Makes great Xmas gifts- just buy jelly jars, and add a bow around the neck of the jar. When
my mom had her brain surgery-I took jars to the ICU for the Drs & nurses. At noon-I'd go to
the cafeteria to eat & here I'd see all of them walking in with their 'dressing jars" LOL!

***

From Ang - I've been making this since 1999 when Sharon posted it. I just made about 9 more jars last week, by request.

***

Here's another one recently added to our favorites list:

Spicy Chicken Pasta

4 cups rigatoni pasta (uncooked)
4 TBSP. good olive oil
1 1/4 lbs. mild or spicy Italian chicken sausage
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
3 cups chopped fresh spinach (I used 4 cups)
1 cup chopped red onion
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. red chili flakes (cayenne pepper works)
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (I used a combo of grated mozzarella, asiago and provolone)

Cook the pasta as per pkg. directions, drain, place in a large bowl and set aside. Cook the sausage and when cool enough to handle, slice into 1/2 inch pieces. Set sausage aside. Saute onion and garlic in 4 Tbsp. olive oil until tender, add sliced sausage back into the pan along with the chopped sun dried tomatoes and spinach and cook for about 5 minutes or so. Toss all into the cooked pasta along with the cheese and spices. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I add some of the oil from the tomatoes to moisten it. Mix all together well and spread the noodle mixture into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and sprinkle with more cheese if desired. Cover well with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!

***

I substitute spinach for collard greens in this one if I can't find collard greens:

Chicken and Collard Green Stew with Smoky Tomatoes and White Beans
Rocco DiSpirito

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 chicken thighs
4 slices of bacon cut into ½ inch strips
½ large spanish onion, diced small
4 gloves garlic, chopped
1 - 35 oz can plum tomatoes, roughly chopped, liquid reserved
2 tsp smoked paprika
red pepper flakes to taste
1 ½ cups water
10 oz cleaned and cut collard greens
1 - 20 oz can canellini beans, drained

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Pat chicken dry, season with salt and pepper. Add to pan, skin side down and cook until skin is golden. About 5 minutes. Flip chicken over

Add bacon, onion and garlic to pot and continue to cook until fragrant. About 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes, their liquid, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, water collard greens and beans to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender. About 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

NEELEY'S CREAMED SPINACH

3 bunches fresh spinach , washed well, rough stems removed
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spinach and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander. Press down on the spinach with a clean kitchen towel to release all of the liquid. Remove to a cutting board and roughly chop.
Heat a large saute pan, over medium-high heat and add the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted, add the shallots and garlic and saute until fragrant and tender. Stir in the red pepper flakes and spinach. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute briefly, then add the heavy cream, nutmeg and Parmesan. Reduce the spinach mixture until it has thickened, about 2 minutes.

Spinach Topped French Bread
1 10 oz pk chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2c shredded Cheddar Cheese
2c shredded` Mozzarella cheese
1/2c butter, melted
1 loaf French Bread cut in half lengthwise
Combine first 5 ingedients in a large bowl; stir well. Spread mixture evenly on bread halves. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake uncovered at 350° for15 minutes or until cheese melts.
Yield: 8 servings
From America's Best Recipes
RL`

To make pesto I usually use fresh spinach, quite a bit of basil, and some parsley too. I don't like pesto nearly as much with just basil as much as this milder mix.

Into the food processor:
1/4 c. toasted pine nuts (some people prefer walnuts)
2c fresh spinach (washed, stems removed--overkill?)
1/2 c. fresh basil or one "bunch" from the store
1/2 c. fresh parsley, either type
2 T chopped garlic
salt and pepper
juice of a lemon
1/2 c. parmesan or romano cheese

blend, and then through the lid, drizzle in olive oil (I use mild one) until you get a nice texture

We keep it in the fridge and use on hot pasta or mix with mayo for sandwich spread; we have used it to stuff chicken as well.