Feed Them Fridays: Clam Sauce with spinach over pasta

I am not claiming this is authentic clam sauce, but this is a version I came up with for my family.  I was a little concerned about the kids all liking it, but all 4 of them begged for more.  Here is my recipe.

12-16 oz of uncooked dried pasta (we used Wacky Mac in an assortment of shapes, but fettuccine is tradition)
1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves of garlic (can adjust to liking, but this was perfect for us)
1/4 cup (or so, I did not measure) white cooking wine
3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (again, I did not measure)

2 cups spinach, washed and chopped (can be adjusted to taste; also, if your children dislike spinach, you can chop it really fine and pretend it is just seasoning)

2 cans of clams, liquid reserved

1) Boil water for pasta in a large pot.
2) As water gets close to boiling, put oil and butter in a separate saucepan over medium heat, until butter is melted.

3) Saute garlic in butter and oil until lightly browned.

4)  Add pasta to boiling water.  Add cooking wine, parsley, spinach, and juice from clams to garlic/butter/oil mixture and cook until pasta is almost done   (about 7 minutes).

4) Add clams during final 3 minutes, or just until heated.  If you cook the clams for too long, they get chewy. 
5) Drain pasta and toss with sauce.


I had wanted to add grated Parmesan to the sauce, but forgot about it, maybe next time.  I might also add additional herbs (oregano, basil) in the future, though this was very good as is.  This dish was pretty easy and quick to put together and it tasted great.  If you try this, please let me know what you think.