Creamy Mushroom Fettuccine with Spinach

I am just starting to like mushrooms. I've always wanted to like them; I really did, but I found them slimy and weird. I mean, they are fungi. They are grown in poo. I know this because one winter day my dad took me and my brother to a mushroom farm to see the 15 foot pile of steaming manure because he thought it was funny (it totally was). I have persevered, adding mushrooms to lots of different dishes, and now I can proudly say that I like mushrooms. We're not in love yet, but they are growing on me [insert joke about me being full of shit here]. Even if you think you don't like mushrooms, please try this recipe. Perhaps it will be your gateway recipe to harder mushroom dishes.

Other mushroom recipes I have bookmarked that you may want to try:
Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Squash, and Chestnut Cream (see my previous gnocchi post)
Mushroom Cheese Log with Pecans
Flank Steak Spirals with Porcini and Red Wine Sauce
Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole
Mushroom, Butternut Squash, and Gruyere Tart

CREAMY MUSHROOM FETTUCCINE WITH SPINACH

Serves 2

• 175 g (1/2 package) fettuccine- white or whole wheat
• 1 tbsp butter
• 227 g sliced mushrooms, roughly chopped if desired
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 big handfuls baby spinach
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 2 tsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, saute until pan is dry and mushrooms are golden brown. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and green onions, cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle over flour, cook for 1 minute. Add milk, cream cheese and thyme. Bring to a boil while gently whisking. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is thickened. Add sauce to drained pasta in the same pot the pasta was cooked in. Add spinach, Parmesan, lemon juice. Stir over low heat until pasta is coated with sauce and spinach is wilted. Serve with additional Parmesan and a sprinkle of parsley.