Creamy Lemon, Garlic Pasta

I am late by a day in posting this for my weekend cooking. This weekend was hectic. Even when I cooked, it was something quick, one pot meal that was nothing new. I love spring, summer (not so much heat) and fall but these also bring in more outside work. Yard work to be exact. This weekend was all about cleaning the landscaping beds, trimming the bushes, mulching. In another few weeks start the work of vegetable gardening. Do I love this extra work? yes especially when you see your hard work showing off in terms of beautiful flowers or shrubs or vegetables.
I made this pasta as a quick lunch and the surprising thing is my husband who hates the word pasta ate it saying it is very good. So, I am sure you would want to try it on 'not so much pasta lovers'. It is easy to make and pretty filling.

One Year Back -  Badam Milk / Sweetened almond drink
Two Years Back - Quinoa with Dill, Muffin Vs. Cupcake
Three Years Back - Penne with minty almond sauce
Ingredients:
Shell pasta - 2 cups (Or any medium sized pasta like bow tie or penne) See Notes
Spinach - 1 small bunch or frozen 2 cups (I used frozen chopped spinach 2 cups)
Olive oil - 3 TBSP
Garlic - 4 cloves minced or grated
Lemon zest - from 1 lemon
Lemon Juice - from half a lemon if juicy or use about 2 TBSP of juice (fresh only please, no bottled stuff)
Cream cheese - 4 Oz or half a block of the 8 Oz block (You can use half of this and add some cream instead)
Salt - to taste
Black Pepper - to taste (I crushed black pepper and used about 1 TBSP but I am Indian, remember that)
Water - for cooking the pasta

Method:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt generously. When the water is heating up, in another pan, heat olive oil. Add minced garlic, lemon zest and black pepper to it followed by spinach. Sprinkle very less salt and let the spinach cook.
When the water is boiling, add the dry pasta and cook it till al-dente.
Add cream cheese to the spinach mixture when the spinach is almost cooked. Add the juice of the lemon and drain the pasta well and add it reserving about a cup of pasta water. Add the water as needed to loosen the sauce. Simmer for 3 - 4 minutes and adjust the salt if needed. Serve hot.

Notes:
This pasta has such a flavorful sauce that if the pasta shape is such that it can hold some sauce, it taste better. That was the reason for using shell instead of bow-tie as per my kid's request.
This post is written for weekend cooking post that I write with Srivalli  and  Vaishali,