Sauteed Spinach & Cheese

Frozen chopped spinach
shredded mozzarella cheese
butter
garlic, granulated or powder
lemon juice


Thaw spinach in microwave. While the spinach is thawing, melt butter in a frying pan (a heavy one is best), covering all of the bottom of the pan. Saute spinach in melted butter to cook off the water. You may need to add butter. Add lemon juice when all the spinach is coated with butter and the water appears to be gone. Add garlic to taste now. Remove pan from heat, place in bowl. Add cheese (while spinach is how) and mix. Put mixture in casserole bowl.

Notes: I didn't put measurements in because this dish is so easily individualized; some may like more garlic, some may like more lemon, some may like more cheese. Each cook knows the guests better than any recipe writer. Make your own adjustments based on your guests' preferences. My son and I would eat a box of spinach (10oz.?) at a meal, using about 8 ounces of cheese, 2 ounces of lemon juice, and at least 1/4 pound of butter. Others who were not as appeciative of this didn't eat as much. A guess on my part is that one box of spinach would serve 4 at a meal that has several side dishes, such as Thanksgiving. This dish can also be made entirely in a microwave, but only a little time would be saved because you have to check the water in the spinach often, and add butter as the water is cooked off.
Another plate presentation for this is to serve it in bread. Simply cut a loaf of crusty French bread horizontally, as if you were making a long sub sandwich. Scoop out most of the bread, making each half of the loaf canoe-like. You must leave some of the white to absorb any liquid. There should not be any crust visible on the inside of the bread. Place the spinach, with or without the cheese, in the scooped out area. If you did not add the cheese before putting it in the bread, put it on the top of the spinach now and place in a broiler to melt and brown the cheese. You really need to watch this closely; the moment the cheese starts to brown is the moment you want to remove it. (You can also do this with the spinach/cheese mixture.) Remove from the broiler and let set for about 5-10 minutes. You may also sprinkle sweet basil and oregano on the cheese either before or after browng for a slightly different taste. Served on a large platter, this can be sliced either in the kitchen or at the table, but it is both easier and a better presentation if sliced and displayed before taking it to the table. Again, the yield depends on how many will like it and the size of the bread. My son and I would each eat half of a demi-loaf, but we really like this. A single loaf of French bread, cut as above, should serve 12-16 or so at a meal with several sides. You would probably need 3 or 4 boxes of spinach, and 2-3 pounds of cheese. The amounts depend on how much of the bread you removed.

While reading these instructions makes it seem like this dish would take a long time to prepare, I can tell you that you can make it in less time than it took me write this. It really is an easy dish to make, but does require full attention while you do it. My guess is that it would take no more than 20 minutes to make if you have all the ingredients ready, and it is a very impressive dish to serve when cut in the kitchen and put on a platter.