Recipe of the Week: Ricotta and Spinach Casserole

There is a story behind this recipe, because apparently Mondays and I do not get along. The Fates decided to play some tricks on me last night. After I left the office, I headed to the grocery store to pick up some provisions for the week, since all I had left in the fridge was a loaf of stale bread and half a can of artichoke hearts. As I perused the aisles looking for sun dried tomatoes--the one final ingredient for this dish that would give me enough lunchtime-leftovers for the rest of the week--I was paying more attention to the shelves than what was actually in front of me.

As a result, I didn't see the giant lake of water in the middle of the aisle. I was caught completely unawares when my right foot shot out from underneath me, pushing the cart into a nearby shelf and knocking about a billion cans of diced tomatoes to the floor. Looking back on it, I feel like I was in a cartoon, where the character slips and flies five feet into the air before landing with a loud THUMP on the linoleum. My head hit the floor and I actually blacked out for a second, it hurt so bad. Had I actually been in a cartoon, birds and little squiggly lines probably would have circled my head until I shook it long enough to shoo them away.

When I could actually think clearly again, I debated just lying there (surrounded by canned tomatoes) and pretending I was dead so that I wouldn't have to face the three older women who rushed to see if I was okay. But they started pulling me up and brushing me off, and I kept saying that yes, yes I AM FINE thankyouverymuch. Then one of them went and got, of course, the most attractive young manager with blue eyes and a two-day scruff that I had ever seen. They insisted that the grocery store do something about all the water on the floor, because I could have been seriously injured. My head certainly was pounding, but I think it was my pride that was injured the most. I turned beet red in the face and repeatedly told the women and the manager that I WAS FINE and just wanted to find those fucking sun dried tomatoes and go home.

After ten minutes, the older ladies backed off and continued their own shopping. The manager apologized again about the wet floor, and before he left I managed to ask where the damned sun dried tomatoes were located. I limped across the entire store, grabbed a ridiculously over-priced bag of the fuckers, and paid.

When I walked outside, I was met with pitch black darkness (screw you, Daylight Savings!!) and, of course, torrential rain. I stood there for a minute biting back the hot tears that flooded my eyes and telling myself I would be home soon enough, but the rain did not abate. Muttering under my breath, I sprinted (as fast as one can in three-inch heels) to the far side of the parking lot, threw the bags in my trunk, hurled the cart in the vague direction of the nearest cart stall, and flung myself into the car. I was sopping wet from head to toe, and as soon as I turned on the engine I remembered that one of the things on my list of Things to Do This Week had been to buy new wiper blades, since mine no longer remove ANY water from the windshield.

I mentally cursed and shook my fist at the heavens, then began to slowly drive home. I was five minutes away when, I swear to god, I started to hear little plink plink plinks on the roof of my car. Yes, it was hailing. HAILING. That, or the semi in front of me was shedding, in which case perhaps that driver had bigger problems than I did at that moment.

I pulled up to the apartment and reached for the garage door opener, but had to slam on the brakes because Rose was already parked in the driveway in front of my side of the garage. Cursing again and craving the dry spot I knew was mere feet away, I parked on the other side of the driveway, climbed out into the maelstrom, grabbed the groceries, and trudged up the stairs to the front door in my probably-ruined and soaking wet heels. I dropped everything just inside, and I admit it, I went downstairs and had a good cry as I stripped off my wet clothes and pulled on sweatpants and a sweatshirt. When I felt better, I washed my face and popped a few Advil. Then, taking some deep breaths, I went back up to the kitchen and made this delicious dish (found here). (If it had turned out crappy, I hate to think what I would have done.)

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
8 ounce mozzarella cheese, grated
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs, beaten to blend

Instructions
-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Mix in spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sauté until all liquid from spinach evaporates, about 3 minutes.
-Combine ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses in large bowl. Mix in eggs. Add spinach mixture; blend well.
-Spoon cheese mixture into dish. Bake until filling is set in center and brown on top, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

My Improvements
-I modified this recipe a LOT. The original called for everything to be poured into a pre-made pie crust. I love pie and cheese and the two together sound like heaven, but my love handles just can't take that kind of calorie bombardment. So I nixed the pie altogether and baked it in a large casserole dish.
-I used the skim or low-fat versions of all the cheeses, and replaced half of the Parmesan cheese with feta to add a little more flavor. The casserole still had plenty of taste, and I like to think it was a little healthier. Maybe. A smidge healthier, anyway.
-I added a few minced cloves of garlic to the onion. Can't go wrong with garlic.
-I also added chopped sun dried tomatoes to the skillet when I put in the spinach, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I love these little buggers and they bring both color (looks like Christmas!) and deliciousness to everything.

All in all, it turned out great. I brought some leftovers for lunch to work today, as I will for the remainder of the week/month until it's gone. Definitely an A+, despite the hardships endured earlier in the evening.