Spinach and cheese pie

I had been looking at a spinach pie recipe on Budget Bytes for ages.  Yesterday the craving hit an all time high so I proceeded to make it with whatever ingredients I had lying about!!! 

I love puff pastry - I know its not that good for you in terms of being healthy but what can I say - I do love it.  Combine it with spinach, mushrooms and feta which are some of my favourite ingredients and you're in food heaven!  

So here it is - a very simple to throw together meal.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ingredients

Spinach (frozen cut) - 16 oz 

Mushrooms - 5-6 sliced thickly

Onion - 1 medium

Garlic clove - 1 

Nutmeg - 1/8 tsp

Feta cheese - 1/2 cup

Mozarella - 1/2 cup

Parmesan - 1/4 cup

Cayenne Pepper/Chilli powder (optional) - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Eggs - 3

Puff Pastry - 1 sheet (I bought the ready version)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Thaw out your frozen spinach. Mix together the spinach (after you've squeezed out all the water), feta cheese, mozarella, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and salt. 

2. Chop the onion and garlic.  Take some oil in a pan.  Lightly saute the onion and garlic.  Add the mushrooms and quickly saute till they are just soft.  Add some salt and then add this to the spinach mixture.  

3. Check for seasoning and then add 2 eggs to the spinach mixture. 

4.  Roll your puff pastry out.  Then place the pastry in an ovenproof dish.  Spoon the filling in evenly and then fold over the pastry to cover the top.  I cut off some excess bits from the side to cover a gap that was left.  Break an egg and beat it up and brush over the top of the pastry to give it a nice glaze as it bakes in the oven. 

5.  Bake for 45 minutes at 160 degrees centigrade. 

6. Once done, take it out of the oven and leave for five minutes prior to cutting it up to serve. 

If you want to refer to the original recipe, you can find it here. 

Slow cooker chicken pepperonata

This has become a staple meal in our home....its oh so easy to do and packs oodles of flavour.  The original recipe is from Kayotic Kitchen.  Mine is the slightly Indianised version! 

I love peppers and the combination of peppers, onion and garlic sauteed in a pan is enough to make the house smell divine! 

Here is this super easy recipe:-

Ingredients
500 g boneless chicken thighs
3 bell peppers
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil

Method

1. In a pan, add 2 tbsp oil.  Add the chicken thighs and cook till they get a little bit of colour.  Remove and drain on some kitchen towel. 

2.  In the same pan, add the onions, garlic and bell peppers.  Once cooked, add the chilli powder, cumin and dried oregano.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

3.  Transfer the onion bell pepper mixture to the slow cooker and add the chicken and diced tomatoes.  Add the cream of mushroom soup.  If you prefer not to use canned soup, leave this out and use some cornstarch to thicken the pepperonata once done. 

4.  Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for about 3 hours.  

5.  Serve with hot rice or pasta sprinkled with a generous helping of cheese - Enjoy! :)

If you prefer, you can make this on the stove top.  Just add the chicken and cover and cook till done.