Spaghetti with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Quick and easy spaghetti with spinach and goat cheese – a simple 20-minute dish for busy weeknights.

 There’s always a few days a week where the idea of cooking is as appealing as sticking a fork in my eye. You know the days – work is busy and stressful, the puppy won’t stop barking, somebody in the neighborhood keeps switching out trash cans and somehow you end up with the grossest one (seriously, WHY?), and the weather has you curled up on the couch with a take out menu in one hand and the remote in the other. Hello, crab rangoons and Top Chef! Why cook when you can watch someone else do it on TV?

While I may not always practice what I preach  I have come around to the idea that the bad days are the days we should cook. Everything in the world can be out of control, but we can take control in the kitchen and, in not that much time, make dinner. We can make dinner!

So, here’s a simple recipe for the next time the chips are down…

Boil some spaghetti and while it’s cooking heat some olive oil and butter in a pan and toss some garlic in. Add some fresh spinach, toss it around until it gets all wilty and coated in the garlicky oil. Toss the cooked pasta in all the spinach and add some cream and goat cheese to the pan. Stir it ’round and ’round until it’s all melted and creamy.  Add the seasonings, plate it up (or not – it’s just as good straight from the pan), pour some wine, grab the remote, your coziest blanket and… ahhhhhhh.

Take that, bad day.

Spaghetti with Spinach and Goat Cheese

This spaghetti with spinach and goat cheese is so simple to make – perfect for busy nights when you need a quick and easy dinner!

• Author: Girl Gone Gourmet
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2-4
• Category: Main Course

Ingredients

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 bunch of fresh spinach (6-8 cups), chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 ounces creamy goat cheese
• 1/4 cup of cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
2. While the spaghetti is boiling, prepare the sauce by first heating the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Once the butter has melted add the garlic and let it cook for a minute or so stirring continuously. Pile the spinach in the pan (it will seem like a lot, but it will cook down quickly) and stir it around so that it wilts. Add the nutmeg and give it all a big stir
3. Once the pasta is done cooking first reserve a few tablespoons of the starchy water before draining. Add the pasta to the spinach. Add the cream and goat cheese and, using tongs, toss all of it together until the cheese has melted and everything is well coated in the sauce. If needed, add some of the starchy water to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes

If you want to make this a proper dinner this recipe will serve four people with salad and bread on the side. If you want to make this a I want to sit in my jammies and eat it straight from the pan kind of dinner there’s plenty for two.