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. 

Veg pot pie

I have had a sabbatical from blogging.....I have gone back to working full time after four years and this doesn't leave me enough time to do as much as I used to.  Between trying to juggle home, work and family, I have had my hands full. 

But I miss blogging and I figured I need to focus and try and get started again.  It may not be as much as I used to  but I need to at least try.

Here's another winner from Budget Bytes.  I tried this vegetable pot pie this weekend and it was amazingly good.  Beth has done all the hard work with putting up the recipe and step by step photos, which you can find here. She has an awesome blog - do take some time to visit it - especially if you enjoy cooking. 

Black bean and corn quesadillas

With moving house and things up and down on the job front, most of this year has been - to say the least - quite trying! Its taught me to live a more frugal lifestyle and to be honest, once you start to do that - you wonder why you spent so much money wastefully in the first place! 

I've just found work again but have been trying out different recipes over the past couple of months whilst I was off work - which is just as well because it has stood me in good stead now when I have to work full time! 

One of these fantastic recipes, I found over at Budget Bytes. This is my new favourite blog - Beth does some awesome recipes on a budget - inventive cooking is so much fun!

The only change I made to mine was that I didn't use any cayenne pepper in the taco seasoning - just because I didn't have any! Other than that, these were super easy and taste amazing.

You can find the original recipe here. They freeze beautifully - perfect for a quick lunch or snack!

Enjoy!

Vegetable Quiche

This was my first attempt at quiche and I am pleased to say that it turned out awesome (well the pastry crust was a bit soggy but that didn't stop it from being awesome!)

Here's what you will need: -

2 peppers, sliced

3 large mushrooms, sliced

3 spring onions, both white and green parts sliced

Dried herbs (I used oregano and thyme) - a pinch

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Bunch of fresh coriander, chopped (you can use parsley)

Ready rolled shortcrust pastry

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Salt 

Pepper

Method

1. In a flan tin, lay the pastry out and cut off the excess.  (I saved these to make jam tarts with Lil Miss J - food doesn't get wasted in my house - no sirree!!).  Now I didn't do this, but you should probably brush the pastry with some egg and let it blind bake for about 5 minutes so that it hardens and doesn't get soggy from the filling you will put in later.  I put a layer of grated cheddar cheese on the base.

2. In a pan, heat the oil and saute your veggies until they are soft. Add the dried herbs, salt and pepper to season.  Then transfer this to the pastry base. Sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Look at all that gorgeous colour!

3.  Mix together the eggs, milk and melted butter.  Pour this mixture on to the base, sprinkle on some grated cheddar and bake at 190 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. 

And this is what you'll end up with! Now that is gorgeousness on a plate - even if I say so myself!

You don't have to stick with these veggies - use whatever you have lying about and if you don't want a veggie version, you can always chuck in some bacon or ham! 

Happy eating!