Spinach Cheddar Bake

I turned twenty-three Saturday June 15. The number is the kind of number that does not announce itself but lands as a fact when you realize you are the age Mama was when she had Cody. Brayden is one hundred and forty-one weeks old. The pregnancy is at forty-one weeks — one week past the due-date. The baby is still inside.

The spinach cheddar bake is a small Sunday-dinner casserole — fresh spinach, eggs, milk, cottage cheese, shredded cheddar, a small amount of flour as the binder, baked in a casserole dish at three-fifty for forty minutes until the top is golden and the center is set. The dish is the small low-effort late-pregnancy meal that requires no standing-and-stirring at the stove.

The technique question on a spinach-casserole is the spinach-moisture. Fresh spinach releases a lot of water when it cooks. The fix is wilting the spinach in a small pan on the stovetop for two minutes, then squeezing it dry in a kitchen towel before adding to the egg-and-cheese mixture. The squeeze removes about a cup of water per pound of spinach.

Sunday I made the casserole at the apartment. Mama, Dustin, Brayden, me. The four of us at the kitchen table at six PM. The dinner was small and warm and the small quiet-Sunday the late-pregnancy week wanted.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 packages (10 oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
6 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the dish

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish or a deep 9-inch square dish generously and set aside.
Drain the spinach. Thaw the spinach completely, then wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. You want it as dry as you can get it — this keeps the bake from going watery.
Mix the base. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until smooth. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until combined.
Fold in spinach. Add the squeezed spinach to the egg mixture and fold it in evenly, breaking up any clumps so the spinach is distributed throughout.
Fill the dish. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer. Scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar over the top.
Bake. Place in the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is set and no longer jiggles when you gently shake the dish. The top should be golden and the edges slightly pulling away from the sides.
Rest and serve. Let the bake rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm, cut into squares.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spinach Cheddar Bake — A Quiet Twenty-Third-Birthday Sunday Dinner