meat loaf can be the side dish: sauteed spinach with shallots

Eating more vegetables with a main meat dish is a great way to (a) eat less meat, and (b) save money, by way of (a). It's a challenge for me to come up with an interesting method for vegetables that will adequately complement an awesome meat dish without just slathering cheese and bread crumbs all over it (I'm from the south, so that would be my default treatment for vegetables). I bought a big one-pound bag of baby spinach the other day, and was just going to do the "usual" - a little garlic, cranberries and walnuts. But then I happened across this recipe on Epicurious, which is even easier and adds less sugary fatty acoutrements. It's funny to me that they call it a "chiffononade" - if I ever make this for guests, I'll have to remember to fancy it up by using it's proper name. For now, it's just sauteed spinach with shallots. (And the spaghetti squash in the photo was so nice it deserves its own post...)

By the way - I've covered meat loaf before if you're interested in checking out my recipe...

Grocery list: 3 shallots, 1 pound bag baby spinach, some olive oil, salt, pepper.



Saute 3 minced shallots in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach carefully, and keep moving it around so the spinach wilts evenly. When it's all cooked down (it will look like you start with enough spinach for approximately 20 people, but this really only makes 2-3 servings), season with salt and pepper. Much more interesting than you'd think, I promise...