Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Real Spinach Pie ~ made easy

Want more friends or respect from colleagues?  Make them a spinach pie.

The recipe that follows originated from a greek cook book of authentic greek food.   "They" want you to use fresh leaf spinach that you have to wash and then par boil.  "They" want you to beat the eggs and layer each delicate sheet of Phyllo with brushed olive oil before it dries out and crumbles on you (about 7 minutes if you are lucky).  I wanted to know if my way would taste just as good.  It does.  My way = slap it together and shove it in the oven.

Prep Time:  20 minutes.
Cook Time:  45 minutes.
Eat Time:  5 tasty minutes.

4 packages of 10oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed ---Leave out on a plate over night)
1 small onion chopped
1 bunch of dill
1 12-16oz. package of feta (the more the merrier)
2 eggs
1 roll of phyllo dough (thawed -- over night in the fridge)
Olive oil
salt and pepper
*Optional:  4-6 Morning Star breakfast patties (chopped and thawed like the spinach)

----
How to get rid of the water in the spinach:

-The Manimal way:  squeeze the boxes with your bare hands over the sink.

-The Lady-like way:  Dump the content of 2 boxes into a kitchen towel and squeeze and twist out excess... this is the way Racheal Ray does it.  It is the quickest though, you'll want to use a green towel.

----
Preheat to 375 degrees if you want.  I generally do not these days. It is the opinion of The Hasty Domestic that for a lot of things (not all) preheating the oven is myth of sorts.

Dump in a large bowl all contents except for the phyllo.  For the dill, I just rinse it and then snip with scissors all the way down to the rubber band.  For the olive oil, I have whisky pourer on the bottle.  I go around the bowl 2 times or so (use about 3 tablespoons). 

Combine ingredients with your hands like your mom did when making meatloaf.

Drizzle a little olive oil in a 9x13 pan.  Unroll phyllo.  There is about 24 very thin sheets.  Grab a quarter of them place in pan.  Drizzle a bit more olive oil.  Place another quarter over that.  Dump contents of large bowl and smooth out.  Place half of the sheets you have left over that.  Drizzle a little oil and place the rest of the sheets over that.  Tuck in edges.

*Important: before you put pie in the oven, sprinkle a little water over the top of the pie to prevent burning.  And if you bring it to work for lunch, don't.  You'll be harrassed for not bringing enough for everyone...it is that good.

Bake for 45 minutes.

... and by all means, make your comments below if I am missing something or you know of a better way!!!!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Vegetarian Avocado Tacos (No Cook)

This will make about 8 to 10 small tacos.
This should take about 20 minutes.

4 ripe avocados
2 roma tomatoes chopped
1 quarter onion diced
a little salt
to taste (I add a lot):
pepper
hot sauce
garlic powder
cumin
8-10 CORN tortillas, thawed (these are the small ones found either refrigerated or frozen)

Place avocado meat into a large bowl.
How to open an avocado the Mexican way: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGWU5a67Nvs&noredirect=1
Add all ingredients except for the tomatoes and mash with a fork or spatula.
Let it sit and start on heating the tortillas. 
Grab a paper plate and 2 paper towels.  Dampen the paper towels and place on plate.  On top of that place your tortilla stack.  On top of that place another 2 damp paper towels.
Microwave for about 2 minutes until they are soft.

Add tomatoes to your large bowl and gently fold them in until the are combined with the avocado.

Stuff your corn tortillas.

*Best served with strong margaritas.  If they are a little sloppy just add more tequila to the margaritas.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Blog statement:


I work full time and have my hands full of "baby" the rest of the time. How the hell am I supposed to feed myself, keep a somewhat sanitary living space and etch out a life ---- for myself!?

I cut corners. The corners "they" don't tell you about. I'm here to tell you there is a faster way that yields the desired results.

The idea for this blog sprung from my partner in crime, respected colleague and loyal friend...The Reluctant Domestic: http://reluctant-domestic.blogspot.com/. What we both have in common is that we need a team of domestic servants to support our life style. But have yet none.

There are many like us. I am speaking to you!