Pasta with Spinach Sauce

First off, let me apologize for neglecting my blog so much lately!  It's actually been for a good reason.  I'm operating at a bit of a less-than-whirlwind pace the last couple months, and spending more 1:1 time with my son, so I count that as a good thing.  Now, I've still been trying new recipes and projects around the house, so I actually have a backlog of posts.  Once those start to pile up, I can get a bit immobilized by the "oh noes, where do I start?" feeling.

Anyway, jumping back into it with this SUPER tasty dish.  Giada never steers me wrong.  I'm pretty sure my cooking trinity right now are Martha, Giada, and the Barefoot Contessa.  Also helping: reading The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster.  Hilarious and great.

Ingredients

• 1/2 box of pasta (I stuck with Giada and used penne this time)
• 1 garlic clove (I used 2, and it was WAY too much; stick with 1 for these proportions, and I'd even shy away from the full 3 in the original, larger batch recipe)
• 1 ounce goat cheese (though being generous won't hurt HERE!)
• 1/2 ounce cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 3 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup pasta water

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, in generously salted water.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
2. While the water is boiling/pasta is cooking, prepare the spinach sauce.  Let me prepare you now: it is going to be a startling shade of green.  Like, you're going to think you're serving Slimer from Ghostbusters on your pasta.  But it's HEALTHY!  ;)
3. Mince the garlic in a food processor.  Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and half the spinach.  Blend until smooth and creamy, and set aside.
4. Place the remaining spinach in a large bowl.  Scoop 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set aside.  Drain the pasta when cooked through, and add the warm pasta to the bowl with the spinach.  Add the spinach and cheese mixture, and stir until pasta is completely coated, adding the pasta water to the mixture as needed to make it smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese to serve.