Spinach Mushroom Florentine

Having an early Christmas Dinner in Calgary, Canada was a great time to try new recipes. The Spinach Mushroom Florentine was a big hit. We stayed with good friend, Alec McDonald, and he was an excellent host even helping stir the spinach dish. He also grilled perfect steaks after shoveling a foot of fresh snow off the BBQ. When tiny Megan enjoyed a second helping of spinach we knew it was good. Family members include Alec, Megan McDonald, Steven Patterson, Elaine McDonald.

Spinach Mushroom Florentine pg 190

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen choppen spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic powder to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the mushrooms in a non stick skillet until tender. Cool slightly. Press the excess moisture from the spinach. Combine the spinach, onion, butter, 1/2 cup of the cheese and the salt in a bowl and mix well. Spoon half the spinach mixture into a buttered 9 X 13 inch baking dish and top with half the mushrooms. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Top with the remaining spinach mixture, remaining mushrooms and garlic powder. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 6 to 8.

Note: We used lots of fresh spinach and it was so-o-o yummy. Also did not need to butter the dish.