Super Spinach Facts and Rotini with Circle B Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage, Spinach & Pine Nuts
As kids, a lot of us hated our vegetables—including spinach! But our parents, told us to eat it; it would make us grow up big and strong. Even the cartoons got in on the action. Who doesn’t remember Popeye the Sailor Man, his ever-present can of spinach, and the bulging biceps that saved the day?
But is spinach really the muscle-growing plant it is reported to be? Let’s take a look at some spinach facts:
- Spinach is classified as a “superfood”, just like cranberries!
- Spinach has almost zero fat or cholesterol.
- Spinach is an excellent source of zinc and niacin.
- Spinach is a source of fiber, protein, and calcium (which is why it is an excellent alternative to use with the Paleo diet!)
- Spinach is high in potassium, a mineral that enhances muscle function
- Spinach is great to eat fresh in a salad, or as an addition to pastas, quiches, dips, and sides; it is an extremely versatile food.
In fact, I have a couple of delicious spinach recipes I’d like to share with you:
Rotini with Circle B Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage, Spinach, and Pine Nuts
Serves 6
Big John and I Iove any kind of pasta prepared in any way. When I read this recipe from Family Circle Magazine, I knew that it would be delicious prepared with Circle B Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage. This recipe is something your family will enjoy time and time again. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- • 1 lb. Circle B Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage
- • 1 lb. spinach, cleaned
- • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- • ½ cup golden raisins
- • ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- • ¼ tsp. salt
- • ¼ tsp. pepper
- • 1 lb. rotini
- • ½ cup Parmesan, grated
Instructions:
- Heat olive oil in large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Crumble in sausage and grated garlic; cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add spinach and cook 3 minutes.
- Stir in raisins, pine nuts, and salt and pepper.
- Cook rotini to package directions. Drain and reserve 1 cup cooking water. Toss pasta with sausage mixture and enough reserved water to create a sauce.
- Stir in grated Parmesan and serve.
You may also want to try this nutritious and delicious recipe for Tomato, Bacon, and Spinach Quiche by thisgalcooks. My family loved it!
- 1-9 inch pie crust
- 3 slices of Circle B Ranch Hickory Smoked bacon, cooked crisp and chopped up
- â…“ C frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed and squeezed dry (1/3 C after squeezing dry)
- 3 tbsp onion, chopped
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 C half and half
- ½ C milk
- ½ C shredded Swiss cheese
- ½ C shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- â…› tsp seasoned salt
- Âľ of a tomato, thin sliced
Instructions:
- Place the pie crust in a 9″ round cake pan. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Bake the pie crust at 350 for 15 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the beaten eggs, cheeses, milk, half and half, bacon, spinach, onion, pepper and seasoned salt.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and even out if needed. Top with the sliced tomatoes.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
For more delicious spinach recipes and more in-depth discussion about the health benefits of spinach visit https://www.cookingdetective.com/33-amazing-health-benefits-of-spinach/
