How I Got My Husband To Eat Spinach!

My husband isn't a big spinach fan. Well, he loves raw spinach, but not cooked spinach. I remember one of the first things I cooked for my husband was a vegetarian lasagna and the main ingredient was spinach. The lovely smell of lasagna filled the house and while my mouth was watering, my husband just gave me a nervous smile. Time to eat, he took a few bites and confessed. I wasn't offended, but I did feel bad. He DID help me and didn't say anything!! Men. ;)

So since then, I only cooked spinach for myself and whenever I prepared a spinach dish for the family, it's always raw. But last night, I HAD to try yet another recipe from my Pampered Chef Cookbook, "Cooking For Two and More." This recipe features salmon, cream cheese, and spinach wrapped in phyllo dough. How yummy is that? And guess what? The husband enthusiastically agreed! Even my spinach phobic 4 year-old gobbled this down. Pair this with easy Skillet Lemon-Rosemary Potatoes and you have an easy, yet elegant looking meal on your hands!

This is a perfect mid week meal and the variations are endless!

Salmon & Spinach in Phyllo
Adapted from Pampered Chef's "Cooking  for Two and More"


Ingredients
1 t olive oil
4 cups of spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8  (9 x 14 inches) thawed, frozen phyllo
Nonstick cooking spray
2 skinless salmon fillets (4-6 oz each), about 1 1/2 inch thick)
2 T chive and onion or any flavored cream cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F, Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Add spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Remoce spinach to paper towel-lined plate. Squeeze out access moisture; set aside.

Lay out phyllo on large work surface and spray with cooking spray. Place second sheet of phyllo over first, pressing sheets together to seal. Continue laying down  and spraying phyllo sheet to create a stack of four sheets of phyllo. Repeat with remaining phyllo and additional cooking spray to create another phyllo stack.

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Spread each salmon fillet with half of the cream cheese spread and top with half of the spinach. For each phyllo bundle, place salmon, spinach side down, on phyllo stack 2 inches from bottom edge of the short side. Fold long side of phyllo in toward center, Gently roll up phyllo from bottom to top. Place in a small rimmed roastin pan seam side down. Make three diagonal slits across top of each bundle. Spray each bundle with cooking spray and bake for 11-13 minutes or until center of salmon registers 130F and phyllo is golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes before serving.


Lemon-Rosemary Skillet Potatoes
About 4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T butter
2 T fresh rosemary, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Put potatoes in a large pan and cover with cold water. Parboil for about 10-15 minutes on medium high. You want firm, not mushy potatoes! You want to do this so they cook quickly and evenly in the skillet.

Now drain the potatoes and dry the potatoes with a paper towel as much as possible. In a skillet, preferable a cast-iron, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add potatoes in one layer, turn every so often to ensure potatoes brown well; about 10 minutes.

Once potatoes are golden brown, lower heat to medium add garlic rosemary, salt and pepper turning frequently. After about 2 minutes, add lemon juice. Stir for one minute, then serve.

 Easy peasy. Crispy on the outside, nice and fluffy on the inside. This was the biggest hit with the baby! Great for folks with small ovens like me!



Sorry no progress photos, was alone with three hungry children and had to work quickly with the phyllo!! It is so simple as you will see!