Sauteed Spinach with Bacon and Onions

While I’ll admit that I had a really hard time with spinach as a child, I have to point out just how Manly spinach really is. I’m sitting here doing my best to remember, but I’m fairly certain the only food a cartoon hero ever ate to gain “super powers” was spinach. And it was Popeye the Sailor. How cool is that? Damsel screams in distress. You pop open a can of spinach and gulp it down. Next thing you know, your arms are the size of your thighs and you’ve got hammers for fists. Your theme song magically starts to play and off you go to beat the tar out of the Bad Guy and save the fair maiden. Obviously, she’ll be thrilled and want to marry you, and you’ll both live happily ever after.

OK, so that isn’t going to happen in real life. Which is why you need to learn to cook some great meals so you can impress her that way. Back to the spinach we go. As I mentioned, I had a very hard time with spinach as a child. For some reason, it just felt like I was eating a weed out of the garden. I equated it with dandelions (another useful green) and crabgrass and such. And I just couldn’t wrap my head around eating it.

It was actually those little Stouffer’s® Spinach Souffle frozen bricks that got me into spinach. Those things are proof that if you put enough butter on something, it will taste good. Many years later I discovered that raw spinach was really good! Not only did I love the spinach salad that turned me on to this fact, I found that it was a great replacement for lettuce in a sandwich. It actually has taste! And it’s hearty and wholesome and good for you!

But I still didn’t like cooked spinach. Until I found this recipe idea. For me, bacon and onions are basic staples. If I can make something with those, there’s a great chance I’m going to love it. And that’s how it is with spinach. So let’s go have some fun, shall we?

Ingredients:

4-6 slices of bacon – lovely bacon
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 medium white onion
Spinach – one 9-0z. bag of baby spinach
2 teaspoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar

Instructions:

Cut bacon into 2″ strips.

Heat your largest skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add bacon and cook until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon and set aside to drain.

While the bacon is cooking, cut your onion in half, then cut each half again. Cut each quarter into thin slices.

Add garlic to pan and stir it into the bacon grease. Then add onions and cook until tender. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add as much spinach to the pan as you can. Stir it around to coat with bacon grease. As the spinach cooks, it will reduce in volume. Keep adding spinach a little at a time until it’s all in there. Continue to cook until wilted and tender – anywhere from 1 to 3 additional minutes.

When spinach is done, add the bacon and onions back into the pan and stir everything up so it’s all happy.

Add lemon juice, and slat and pepper to taste. Mix it all up one last time and serve immediately.

Variations:

One thing you can add automatically if you choose, is mushrooms. Just saute them after the bacon, and before everything else. Remove with slotted spoon when done and set aside. Mix them back in at the end, along with the bacon.

Another nice touch is to sprinkle some blue cheese crumbles over the top when you serve.

And there you have it: a wonderful, bacony, yummy pile of spinach that goes well with almost anything. It may not make you Popeye, but you’ll be a hero with your mate if your kids are willing to eat it! Have fun, maybe even sing the Popeye song as you cook this one. And, above all,

Play with your food!

Lane

I’ve got more Shrimp Recipes here.

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