Baked Eggs Forentine

Luxuriate after a long workweek with The 99 Cent Chef's luscious Baked Eggs Forentine. Go ahead, you deserve it. It's the most delicious edible bonus, a rich-tasting creamy spinach sauce crowned with a soft cooked egg. The name makes it sound haute, but it's not.

All you do to make the sauce is saute some onion, add the spinach to wilt, then pour in some milk, and finally, thicken with a little flour and dried parmesan. Or, you can substitute the parmesan with any favorite cheese you have on hand, even cream cheese. Just blend it in when the spinach sauce is warmed through.

I added the spinach sauce to a small ceramic ramekin and topped it with an egg. You want to bake it at 375 degrees about 20 minutes, until the whites of the egg have set. If you want the yoke slightly cooked through, then the cooking time will be about 25 minutes total.

It's certainly economical, especially when you take home a meager paycheck. Eggs, spinach, onion, milk and dried parmesan - check. Yeah, they're all cheap and I get the ingredients at my local 99c only Store and Latin grocery store.

I used fresh spinach from the bag. You could use one bunch of fresh spinach, or a small package of defrosted and drained frozen spinach.With a bunch of spinach from the produce section of your local market, just make sure cut off the long stems and wash the leaves.

My Baked Eggs Florentine is a great way to start the weekend, along with a hot cup of coffee and pleasant company.

 Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 eggs
• 4 cups of spinach leaves - I lightly pressed them into a measuring cup. Okay to use a small package of defrosted frozen spinach, drained. A bag of spinach is easy to use.
• 1/2 cup of milk - any type, 2% or whole milk. Okay to use half and half cream, for a richer sauce.
• 1/4 chopped onion - white or yellow onion.
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg - optional. I've made it without and it tastes fine.
• 1 tablespoon of dried parmesan - okay to use any cheese you have on hand. About a 1/4 cup shredded.
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil - for sauteing onion and spinach.
• Black pepper to taste - I find dried parmesan has plenty of salt.
• 2 ceramic ramekins - for baking.

Directions
Add 1/4 of a chopped onion to a medium hot pan with a teaspoon of oil. Saute onion for a couple of minutes until softened.

Add 4 cups of fresh spinach to sauteed onion and cook and stir until wilted. The spinach will quickly shrink and soften after a couple of minutes.

Sprinkle on a teaspoon of flour and mix well. Pour in half cup of milk or cream. Heated through for a couple of minutes then sprinkle on dried parmesan.

Finally add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (optional) and a little black pepper to taste.

Get the oven heating to 375 degrees. Add spinach sauce to the ramekins. I fill them no more than half way, as the sauce will rise and bubble. Top each ramekin with an egg. You can sprinkle on a little salt and pepper if you want. It's a good idea to put a wide pan underneath the ramekins, in case some of the spinach sauce overflows.

I guess this is the trickiest part is: how well done do you like your egg? I like my egg yokes runny so for a 375 degree oven it takes about 20 minutes. For a yoke that is still just barely soft, then the time will be closer to 25 minutes.

You will know by checking that the eggs white is cooked solid. And if the yoke has a little give when pressed with your fingertip.

Of course, be careful when you are handling an oven-hot ceramic ramekin.

You might want to wait a minute for cooling, when serving right out of the oven. The spinach sauce will be hot like the ramekin, so eat carefully and enjoy. For serving to kids, then allow it all to cool down longer.