Another Vegetarian Dish

[Meticulous madness]

This is a recipe posted on SparkPeople.com (user: Twinmom 143) and I just made it tonight. Yum! It was a hit for the fam so I thought I would share.

Skillet White beans, Spinach & Tomatoes over Linguine

2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (do not drain)
1 can any white beans (I use Great Northern or Navy)
1 package fresh spinach
6 cups cooked linguine (or other pasta)
6 tablespoons Romano or Parmesan cheese (grated)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet.
2. In a separate pan start boiling water for linguine and cook pasta while you continue.
3. Add garlic, saute for a minute or so.
4. Add tomatoes and beans and bring to a boil
5. Cover with spinach, top with lid, reduce heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. Spoon tomato/beans/spinach mixture over linguine and sprinkle with cheese. This makes 6 servings of 1 cup of pasta, 1 cup of sauce and 1 tablespoon of cheese.

Number of servings: 6

I used about 1/3 of a small box of frozen spinach (dh and kids don't like much spinach, so I added as much as I could get away with), and just cooked it a little bit in the microwave before adding it to the mixture. We also used penne pasta instead of linguine - just because I had some on hand. Deelish!

At first my DH thought it was a bit "soupy" with a little too much fluid, but he decided it was perfect to soak up his roll in it, as he ate. We also found that the moisture was quickly soaked up into the other ingredients as it sat. It did have a bit of a minestrone flavor. But, I really loved it and we will definitely be eating it again.

Hope you like it!

[5ft Diva]

Funny question: What dish does this compare to in taste? It sounds good, but I can't imagine what it would be like. (What a great way to use food storage!)

[Meticulous madness]

Hm. I don't know really how to describe it. I really do think it's rather minestrone like (as weird as that sounds).

I would say you could get something similar at an Italian restaurant. I think it's a great "base" since it's such a light, tomato-based dish. It tastes great as it is, but you could easily spice it up with some garden veggies (like zuchini or squash), or anything you have on hand.

The aroma was incredible! But, it really was very simple with just a few ingredients and not much time involved!

Anyway, I was just tempted to try it because I had everything on-hand and it sounded easy. I didn't have huge expectations, but was pleasantly surprised.

[5ft Diva]

Thanks! I really appreciated you taking the time to post all of that. It sounds delicious!