Spinach Pasta Pie

Derf's Note:

Something different with pasta, from B H & G low cal

• Total Time: 57 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 47 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 6 ounces spaghetti or 6 ounces linguine
• 2 tablespoons margarine or 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 ounces fresh spinach or 5 ounces packages frozen chopped spinach
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
• ¼ cup snipped parsley
• 1 (8 ounce) package light cream cheese , softened
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup skim milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano , crushed
• 1⁄8; teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Drain.
3. Return to the hot Dutch oven.
4. Add margarine or butter, toss till melted.
5. Add 1 egg and parmesan cheese, toss till coated.
6. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 10 inch quiche dish or pie plate.
7. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes or til set.
8. Meanwhile, rinse and chop fresh spinach.
9. In a medium saucepan cook spinach, covered with just the water that clings to the leaves about 2 minutes or till steam forms.
10. Reduce heat and cook 3 to 5 minutes more or till tender, stirring frequently.
11. Or cook frozen spinach according to package directions.
12. Drain well.
13. Stir in green onion and parsley.
14. In a bowl beat cream cheese and 2 eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed till combined.
15. Stir in spinach mixture, skim milk, salt, oregano, and pepper.
16. Pour into prepared pasta shell.
17. Cover shell edge with foil.
18. Bake in a 375 degree oven 25 to 30 minutes or til knife inserted near centre comes out clean, let stand 10 minutes.

Reviews

[yooper]

Dorothy, made this for dinner last night. It was very good. I liked this because it was a departure from the usual spaghetti pie recipes with a tomato base sauce. I basically stayed on track with your recipe, except I used 2% milk and spinkled some extra parmesan over the top, which I'm sure kicked up the fat content! Also added a few chopped fresh mushrooms to the spinach layer. This makes a nice "meatless entree!" Thanks for sharing this one!

[Megan Wright]

Yummy..I had this when my parents came over for dinner on a Friday night and it was a huge hit. I used wheat pasta and it added a delicious nutty flavor to the dish. I am adding this to my favorites!!

[ms_bold]

While we loved the idea of this dish, we just weren't in love with the finished product. For our tastes, it needed more flavor. I used fresh spinach and steamed to wilt before adding to the cream cheese and egg mixture. In the future, I would probably saute in a little olive oil and add some garlic and more green onion. Perhaps even a pinch of red pepper flakes would be the kicker for this. Something was missing for our tastes...maybe even serving with salsa would help. We did serve with a tomato and cucumber salad that helped to bring a little life to the dish.