Creamed Spinach with Baked Eggs

I just made the most amazing breakfast for dinner. Dontchya just love having breakfast for dinner?

I love breakfast. I could eat it any and every meal of the day. Recently I’ve been craving spinach. Creamed spinach to be exact. And with Thanksgiving coming up (tomorrow!), I figured it’s the perfect time to make some and blog about it. (Doesn’t everyone eat creamed spinach on Thanksgiving? If not, they should.) In my search for the perfect recipe (one that uses fresh spinach – I have no patience for thawing frozen spinach), I came across a breakfast-y recipe at pbs.org that made me decide to forego my Thanksgiving day creamed spinach recipe. I modified the recipe slightly below.

I will say this, though. This recipe would work wonderfully for your Thanksgiving day table (sans egg). Just double, triple or quadruple the recipe if you’re feeding more than two!

ingredients.

8 oz. fresh baby spinach, large stems removed
1 1/2 T. butter
1 1/2 T. flour
3/4 c. whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 to 3 oz. shredded Gruyère cheese
1 or 2 eggs

directions.

Rinse the spinach and drain it. Place it in a large pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until shrunk. Let cold and squeeze the excess water out of the spinach. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the flour and stir with a silicone spatula until the flour and butter are evenly combined. Do not let the flour brown.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk, a little bit at a time, using a whisking motion with the spatula until there are no lumps left. If you add the milk a little bit at a time you shouldn’t have any lumps. But if you decide to pour the milk in all at once and you can’t get rid of the lumps, use a whisk to break them up.
Return the pot to the heat and cook until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Add the salt and pepper and spinach. Stir to combine.
Divide the mixture between two 12 ounce ramekins or a larger oven-safe dish. Top with cheese.
If you’re preparing this ahead of time, cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake the eggs.
Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and put them in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 450 degrees F.
When the spinach mixture is bubbly (about 10 to 15 minutes if they’re coming from the fridge and depending on the speed of your onion), make one or two wells in the spinach and quickly break the eggs into the wells.
Bake until the whites are just barely set (about another 10-12 minutes). Remove from the oven and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. The dish will be really hot. Serve hot with toast.