Cheesy Shells and Greens

Lainey6605's Note:

This makes a nice meatless dinner for four. Feel free to add a crispy bread crumb topping to this dish by pulsing 4 slices of bread in a food processor to form coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and 2 T olive oil. Sprinkle over the pasta before broiling. Recipe is from Woman's Day.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 12 ounces medium pasta shells
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• cayenne, pinch (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• kosher salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch spinach, thick stems discarded and leaves roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes; whisk in the milk.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.
5. Whisk in the mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, if using, 1 cup Cheddar, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.
6. Add the pasta and spinach and toss to combine.
7. Heat broiler; transfer the mixture to a 1 1/2 quart broiler-proof baking dish or four 12 ounce ramekins.
8. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar and broil until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.

Reviews

[weekend cooker]

Though I scaled this down to 2 servings, and left out the cayenne, and used ground nutmeg. It made for a nice pleasant lunch. Putting this together was quite easy, and it made for a nice lunch. Great idea for a lunch, or dinner, Made for PRMR tag.