LUNCH LADIES CREAMY ITALIAN SPINACH

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Lunch Ladies Creamy Italian Spinach image

When I was growing up, my mom worked full time as a teacher in the special needs program at our school, had a husband and two kids to look after, so my brother and I didn't get lunches packed from home a lot. We also went to private school (same one where my mom taught) so we spent 13 years each in the same place day after day and we really got to know the cafeteria staff well, which was a blessing and a curse, because they watched over us and if we didn't order the hot meal more than once a week, or had soda instead of milk at lunch mom knew and we were in trouble and don't even get me started about the candy bars, (they had been given express orders to not let us buy them!). Wednesday was spaghetti day and they served creamy Italian spinach and garlic bread with it! Everyone in the whole school loved that spinach some kids ate double orders of that and nothing else for lunch. It was a "secret" recipe so they wouldn't divulge it to anyone and we only got to have that creamy yummy goodness on Wednesday afternoons. When I was a junior and a senior in highschool, I had last lunch (with 4k-10th going before) and they always ran out of that spinach. My mom mentioned how I liked it so much and was so sad I didn't get there in time to have it anymore and lo and behold from that day on every Wednesday I was presented with a special bowl of spinach they had put aside just for me. They eventually gave the recipe to my mom, we scaled it way down and we don't have spaghetti in our house without it. So enjoy a trip to my elementary, middle and highschool cafeteria. Note the stage in the back ground and the basketball goals hanging from the ceiling. And I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Provided by SarahBeth

Categories     < 30 Mins

Time 20m

Yield 1 side dish, 4-6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 6

1 (16 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and semi dried
4 slices bacon (leave out to make vegetarian)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded (not the kind in the green jar that looks like powder, this won't work)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps:

  • With kitchen shears cut raw bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy but not burned, drain well on paper towels.
  • Place spinach in a large corning ware type bowl that is micro-wave safe.
  • Add bacon, sour cream, cheese and seasonings to the spinach stir well to combine.
  • Heat covered in a microwave oven for 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir well. Heat for additional 2 minutes.
  • OPTION: For a nicer presentation, after microwaving sprinkle parmesan cheese over top of the spinach and place in 350*F oven for about ten minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

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