While online today I saw an interesting fact – today is National Spinach Day. Awesome! I love spinach, it is one of my favorite vegetables. I like it fresh and cooked. I love that it is packed with vitamins and iron and is just so very good for you. I’ve been known to add spinach to lots of things in order to boost their nutritional value. Pizza? Throw some spinach on top – I promise it will be great! Scrambled eggs? Toss a handful of diced spinach in with the eggs. Add some cheese too and you have a great breakfast item. How about spaghetti sauce? I put it in there too and it makes the sauce nice and thick! Lasagna? Yep. Soup? Yep. My kids are used to finding spinach in all sorts of things and don’t even complain anymore. Yay – Popeye would be proud!

If you read our blog often you know that food days like this make me pull out my favorite recipes and I find something to make that goes along with the day. I pulled out my recipes but decided to go with spaghetti and spinach instead. These recipes are so good that I had to share them anyway. Yummy! If you decide to make one of them today, let us know. Do you have great spinach recipes? I am looking for recipes that use spinach in things like cookies, cake and brownies. The recipes I have tried were not really tasty. Sad! Be sure and share if you have a yummy treat recipe that uses spinach.

Spinach Dip

Makes 1 bread bowl full of dip

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (1.8 ounce) package dry leek soup mix
1 (4 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (1 pound) loaf round sourdough bread

Directions:
1. Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, dry leek soup mix, water chestnuts and chopped spinach. Chill in the refrigerator 6 hours, or overnight.
2. Remove top and interior of sourdough bread. Fill with dip mixture. Tear removed bread into chunks for dipping.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach – rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries – cleaned and sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:
1. Mix together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Spinach Quiche

Makes One 9 inch quiche

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1 (6 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie crust.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center.
5. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.