I hate spinach!

For the Big Words Little Foods weekly recipe swap I thought I'd share how Emily came to change her mind about spinach. 

My daughter is a pasta lover. Put a plate with cheese ravioli and garlic bread in front of Emily she will be in heaven. In fact, the whole family enjoys a good ravioli dinner and so I try to find variations that everyone will like.

   My dear hubby is not a vegetable lover (I think Emily inherited the picky-eater gene from him) but he does like spinach. So I was inspired to incorporate more spinach into our meals and from this my version of Spinach & Cheese Ravioli was born.

After I served up dinner with the ravioli my sweet little daughter gave me a big hug and said, "Thanks for a good dinner, Mama. I looooove it!"

"You're welcome, honey. I'm glad you like spinach now," I answered.

"No, I don't! I hate spinach. Yuck!" she squealed.

Score one for mommy. She was eating spinach, loving it, and didn't even know it.

Afterward I told her about the spinach and she was pretty proud of herself for liking a new vegetable. Not long after that we came across a cute book, D.W. The Picky Eater, at the library that related exactly to Emily's spinach experience. She still talks about it whenever we have Spinach & Cheese Ravioli.

Spinach & Cheese Ravioli

16 oz. ricotta 

1 c. shredded mozzarella 

2 c. spinach, finely chopped

1 egg

1/4 tsp. salt & pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 package wonton wrappers (or you can make your own pasta dough if you're that talented)

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 c. parmesan, grated

Directions: 

Mix first 6 ingredients well. Layout wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Place about a tablespoon of cheese & spinach mixture onto one side of the wonton wrapper. Put a little bit of water around the edges of the wonton to help seal it, then fold and press edges. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil, carefully place the ravioli (about 5 - 6 at a time) in the water. When they rise to the top they are done (about 3 - 4 min.). Gently toss the cooked ravioli in olive oil and parmesan. This recipe makes about 25 ravioli depending how much filing you use for each ravioli.