Weeknight Dinner: Easy Spinach Saute

This is a simple and quick dinner that's become a staple in my kitchen. Italian sausage, canellini beans, and toasted pine nuts make this hearty enough for a winter dinner while the lemon zest and tomatoes keep it from feeling too heavy. Tonight I paired it with an herbed goat cheese crostini. Just by chance we had some left over mulled cider that was wonderful with this dish.

SHOPPING LIST:

-fresh baby spinach

-Italian sausage

-one can of white/cannellini beans

-lemon

-shallots

-cherry or grape tomatoes

-pine nuts



**Disclaimer: I didn't include many measurements in this recipe, since you can't really mess it up. Portions of each ingredient can vary depending on your preference.

Preparation:

1. Toast about 1/3 cup pine nuts on medium heat in a skillet with no oil. Shake the skillet often to keep the pine nuts from burning. When they are a light brown color, remove from the skillet and allow to cool.

3. Grill Italian sausage on grill or grill pan. Slice and keep warm in the oven or covered.

2. Saute shallots and garlic in olive or grapeseed oil on low-med heat until fragrant and translucent but not browning. While this is cooking, drain and rinse one can of cannellini beans and slice tomatoes in half.

3. Add a half of your spinach and toss with tongs often. Remove first batch of spinach to serving dish. Add remaining spinach, cannellini beans, and tomatoes.

4. Add the zest of one lemon and the juice of 1/2 of the lemon to the pan. Add sea salt and ground pepper to taste. I usually add whatever herbs I have handy. Tonight I added some dried winter savory. Rosemary would also be nice.

5. When spinach is cooked, transfer the mixture to serving dish. Add sausage and combine. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and serve immediately.

HERBED GOAT CHEESE SPREAD:

1 part cream cheese + 2 parts herbed goat cheese

I know; I made it sound complicated. Really I "cheated" and bought the goat cheese that came rolled in herbs already.

Credit for food staging on this one goes to Stu. He helped his plate, and I yelled, "Wait! That's a great picture." He laughed, knowing our meal just got delayed several minutes.

On an unrelated matter, I am in full-on Christmas mode. Pinterest has given me a plethora of ideas for decor and gifts. Lots more to come.

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