Cream Cheese Spinach Pesto Recipes

EASY CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spinach, and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander; rinse with cold water until cool. Squeeze spinach to remove as much liquid as possible; coarsely chop, and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add cream cheese and milk; cook, stirring, until cream cheese is melted and smooth. Stir in spinach. Simmer over medium heat until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. Add nutmeg; season with salt and pepper.

PASTA WITH SPINACH PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• While pasta is cooking, in food processor or blender, combine spinach, tofu, lemon juice, garlic, broth, cheese, pepper, and Italian seasoning, process until smooth. Set aside.
• Spray a large non-stick saute pan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, cook onions and mushrooms until tender. Reduce heat to low, add pesto mixture and heat until hot.
• Toss pasta with sauce and bacon bits. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. NOTE: If sauce seems too thick, thin to desired consistency with pasta cooking water or broth.

SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped. Add the walnuts, lemon juice and zest; cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream., Serve desired amount of pesto with pasta. Transfer remaining pesto to ice cube trays. Cover and freeze up to 1 month., To use frozen pesto: Thaw in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Serve with pasta.

SPINACH WITH PESTO CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• PLACE contents of 2 (16 ounce) tubs Organics brand fresh baby spinach in large soup pot over medium heat; POUR 1/2 cup water evenly over spinach; TOSS spinach until evenly dampened.
• COVER pot; COOK spinach just until wilted, between 3-5 minutes, stirring once.
• RETURN spinach into colander in sink; DRAIN completely and let set until ready to use.
• INTO the medium saucepan ADD: 3/4 cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon butter, 4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest, 3/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1 dash fresh ground white pepper; BRING broth to gentle boil over medium heat.
• CHOP 1/2 medium sweet Vidalia onion; MINCE 4 fresh garlic cloves; ADD both to the saucepan with broth mixture; GRATE 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest; SQUEEZE 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice. ADD all to broth mixture; REDUCE heat slightly.
• SIMMER uncovered until onion is almost transparent; REDUCE heat to low.
• STIR in 1/2 cup light cream cheese spread (up to 8 ounces) and 1/3 cup (or more) fresh deli basil pesto into the saucepan mixture, FOLD together gently until cream cheese has melted and the sauce is consistent and creamy (STIR 2 tablespoons heavy cream now if a richer sauce is desired); SEASON sauce to taste now, if necessary.
• REMOVE drained cooled spinach from colander; CHOP spinach coarsely.
• FOLD spinach into sauce mixture until thoroughly blended (FOLD in 2-4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese now, if desired, one tablespoon at a time, gradually until blended).
• SERVE and ENJOY.

PESTO CREAM CHEESE DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Spread cream cheese evenly in the bottom of an 8-inch round baking dish. Layer pesto evenly over cream cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

ONE POT CREAMY PESTO CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces. Add the butter to a deep skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside.
• While the chicken is cooking, mince the garlic. Add the garlic to the skillet with the chicken and continue to sauté for one minute more.
• Add the uncooked pasta and chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken and garlic. Stir to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil.
• Once the broth comes to a full boil, give the pasta a quick stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the pasta simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and most of the broth has been absorbed. Stir the pasta briefly every two minutes as it simmers, replacing the lid quickly each time.
• Once the pasta is tender and most of the broth absorbed, add the milk, cream cheese (cut into chunks), and pesto. Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese has fully melted into the sauce. Finally, add the grated Parmesan and stir until combined.
• If using, add the fresh spinach and sliced sun dried tomatoes. Stir until the spinach has wilted, then remove the pasta from the heat. Top the pasta with freshly cracked pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper, then serve.

BAKED SPINACH RAVIOLI WITH PESTO CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook according to the package directions. Drain the ravioli.
• Combine the spinach and ravioli in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and gently toss to combine.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes (don't let the flour burn). Slowly whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 7 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low. Whisk in the pesto until just heated through, about 1 minute.
• Pour the pesto cream sauce over the spinach and ravioli. Spread with a spoon, making sure all the ravioli are coated. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the edges are browned, about 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

CREAM CHEESE SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Combine ingredients in blender or food processor in listed order to insure proper and easy blending. Turn blender on high and run until pesto is a heavy liquid. May have to stop and push greens down once or twice.
• Pour into air tight container and refrigerate.