Shelly's Recipe

CREAMED SPINACH

Category: Spinach

1 cups half and half
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon chicken base or 1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce and ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry ( 2 1/2 cups)
salt and ground white pepper, to taste
ground nutmeg, for garnish
crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon for garnish

In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, chicken base, Tabasco and seasonings to a simmer. Remove from the heat but keep warm.

In another medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook this mixture for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Slowly whisk the beaten milk mixture into the butter mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. The sauce will be very thick.

Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve while hot. Place the hot creamed spinach in a bowl, sprinkled with an extra touch of nutmeg on top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, if desired. Serves 8