This was a first for me. I cooked spinach. I have never eaten cooked spinach before. Way back when I was in elementary school, we would occasionally be served cooked spinach with half a hard-boiled egg on it. I never even thought about trying it. It looked slimy and disgusting and like something my dad had scraped out from under the lawn mower. I don’t know anyone who ate it. Most lunch trays went back to the kitchen looking the same way they did when they came out.
I saw a recipe on the internet that I thought looked good and surprisingly, it contained cooked spinach. Its something I’ve decided I wanted to try since so many recipes call for spinach. I actually had some fresh spinach left-over from a spinach salad I made for Easter, so I decided to be bold and give it a try. It’s definitely not a Weight Watcher recipe, but I did change the recipe somewhat to reduce the calorie content. The original recipe called for butter and olive oil. I decided to just use the grease left over from frying the bacon. I also substituted whole milk for the half-and-half the original recipe called for. Adapted from eatwell101.com/garlic-butter-chicken-spinach-bacon-recipe.
Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs
1 Tablespoon (or more) diced garlic (from a jar)
Half a large sweet onion chopped
1/3 cup chicken broth
5 slices of crispy bacon
1 1/2 cup whole milk
2-3 cups baby spinach leaves (I didn’t measure it, I just dumped in the remainder of the bag)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded pizza cheese
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon of water
Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat:
Fry bacon until crisp and remove from the pan to a paper towel to drain.
Season chicken thighs with salt and fry in bacon grease 5-8 minutes per side until when pierced with a knife no blood shows.
Remove thighs from pan and add onion and garlic. Fry for several minutes until onions begin to be translucent.
Add chicken broth and allow to cook down a little
Add crumbled bacon
Add milk and Italian seasoning and simmer, stirring occasionally.
Add spinach leaves and allow to wilt in the sauce.
Add cheese and simmer until the cheese melts.
For a thicker sauce, add the cornstarch mixture and stir while the sauce thickens
Add the cooked chicken and spoon sauce over the chicken.
Makes 5 servings; approximately 5 WW points. Serve with cooked rice or riced cauliflower for reduced calories. One cup of cooked rice 6 WW points. Riced cauliflower 0 WW points.
This was delicious. It is a recipe I will definitely make again.